KABUL, 31 August 2004 — The Taleban warned yesterday of further deadly attacks in the run-up to Afghanistan’s first presidential election after a car bomb in the heart of the capital killed up to a dozen people. Three Americans were among those killed in the blast, aimed at the offices of international security company DynCorp, which provides bodyguards for Afghan President Hamid Karzai and also helps train the national police force.
The explosion in Kabul came less than 24 hours after another blast killed 10 people, including nine children, at a religious school in Paktia province, south of Kabul.
And in a separate incident on Sunday, Afghan troops captured five Taleban in the southeastern city of Kandahar before they could carry out an attack on US-led forces, Khalid Pashtun, a spokesman for the provincial governor, told Reuters.
After the Kabul blast, senior Taleban commander said any city with a Western presence could be a target ahead of the Oct. 9 elections, which US ally Karzai is widely expected to win.
“We have started our operations from Kabul under new planning and preparation,” said commander Mullah Daudullah, one of the 10 members of the Taleban council headed by Mullah Omar, an ally of Osama Bin Laden.
“We will carry out more attacks and bombings in Kabul and many of our Mujahedeen are present in cities where the occupying forces of infidels are present,” he told Reuters by satellite telephone.
The US Embassy in Kabul yesterday advised its citizens to avoid military facilities, national and international government buildings, crowded places such as bazaars and restaurants and Internet cafes frequented by foreigners. Staff at international organizations have been advised to lie low and increase security.
