Taliban suicide bomber kills 4, wounds over 100

KABUL - The Taliban claimed responsibility on Tuesday for a carbomb attack near a heavily fortified foreign compound in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, that killed at least four people a day earlier.

It was the latest in a wave of almost daily attacks by the Taliban, who now hold sway over about half of the country and regularly target Afghan forces. The violence comes despite stepped-up efforts by the United States to find a negotiated end to the country's 17-year war.

Health Ministry spokesman Wahidullah Mayar said as many as 113 wounded were taken to different hospitals in Kabul after the Monday evening explosion near the Green Village compound, home to several international organizations and guesthouses.

The area has been the frequent target of attacks in the past. Many foreigners live in the compound, which is heavily guarded by Afghan forces and also private security guards. Roads to the area remained blocked by security forces through the night and into Tuesday morning.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Islamist militant group, said Taliban fighters were responsible for the attack in which he claimed dozens of foreign and Afghan security forces were killed and wounded.

"Five attackers, including the suicide bomber driving an explosives-laden vehicle, were involved in the attack," Mujahid said in a statement.

One of the victims, 35-year-old pharmacists Emal Fayzi, said he was wounded by shrapnel in the chest as he was walking home in the evening. The blast was so strong, he couldn't see anything for a while. Later, he realized he was inside an ambulance.

"No one is safe in this country, innocent and poor people are the victims of these attacks," Fayzi said from his hospital bed.

Another victim, a 13-year-old boy, said his two sisters were wounded inside their home, which had all its windows shattered in the blast.

Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said three military personnel and a civilian were killed while 12 women and 23 children were among the wounded.

Another resident in the area, Sardar Mohammad, 55, said this was the most powerful explosion of all that he had witnessed. Three of his children were wounded, he said, adding that the government should move all military targets out of residential areas to protect civilian lives.

AP-Reuters