Iraqi suspected of planning Kabul bombing
Police in Kabul today arrested an Iraqi man carrying explosives who they suspect was planning a suicide bomb attack on Afghanistan’s defence minister.
The Iraqi, whose name was not given, was picked up on a street corner in Kabul’s Wazir Akbar Khan District, where many foreigners live and work.
It’s believed Defence Minister Mohammed Fahim was the target, said his secretary, Gulbuddin Hamdard.
“The defence minister often travels this route. We are still investigating, but we think he was a suicide bomber,” Hamdard said.
The beleaguered Afghan capital has been nervous since a car bomb killed 30 people and injured more than 150 others in the heart of the city in September. There have been half a dozen smaller explosions since August, but they have caused little damage.
On Thursday, a rocket slammed into a Kabul neighbourhood, but no one was hurt.
While no one has taken responsibility for the attacks, the government blames remnants of the Taliban, al-Qaida or loyalists of renegade rebel commander Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.
