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Taliban Suicide Blast In Kabul Leaves 16 Dead, Attack Aimed At Foreign Forces In KabulBy ugeshji, Section Suicide Bombers  A Massive suicide car bomb ripped apart NATO vehicles on Thursday, killing six Italian soldiers and 10 Afghan civilians, officials said. The explosion took place just after midday about 1.5 km from the US embassy on the busy airport road, destroying at least one vehicle of the NATO- led International Security Assistance Force ( ISAF). " Six Italian soldiers were killed and another three wounded," the Italian defence ministry announced. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack -- one of the worst on the more than one lakh NATO and US- led troops serving in Afghanistan. Armoured vehicles showing the Italian flag and marked with the ISAF logo were damaged, scattering twisted metal across the blood- stained road, where stunned civilians staggered through the wreckage hunting for relatives. " I heard a huge blast and then saw thick black smoke," said shopkeeper Fawad. " I couldn't see anything. When the smoke lifted slightly, I saw a man on the tarmac without a head." Italian defence minister Ignazio La Russa said, 10 Italian paratroopers were travelling in two armoured vehicles when the suicide bomber struck, apparently in a white Toyota vehicle. " Sadly, I must confirm the loss of six lives from the parachute regiment," he said. Source: Mail TodayTaliban suicide blast in Kabul leaves 16 dead Click On "Full Story" For More...
" We must work harder to win the hearts of the Afghans so as to isolate the terrorists," said Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini.
Afghanistan's interior ministry said 10 civilians were killed and another 55 wounded in the suicide car bomb attack targeting international troops. The force of the blast created a huge crater in the dusty road and flung a heavily armoured Humvee military vehicle into the air and onto the other side of the road, witnesses said. " It was the loudest blast I ever heard. All I could see afterwards was that an ISAF vehicle was on fire and the road was black," said Shah Mohammad, who stood at the blast site covered in dust. " I could see wounded civilians shouting and crying from pain." The Taliban swiftly claimed responsibility for the blast. Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the militia carried out the suicide attack. President Hamid Karzai, who won a clear majority in last month's election according to preliminary results, condemned the attack as " barbaric". POPE ` SADDENED' Pope Benedict XVI was saddened by the suicide attack, his spokesman said on Thursday.
" The pope expresses his sorrow, prays for the victims, and sends his thoughts to the families of the wounded and all people affected by this horrible attack," spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said. " Let efforts for peace continue, despite this terrible violence," he added.
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