Brith convoy hit deadly Kabul attack

Central & South Asia

British convoy hit in deadly Kabul attack

Taliban claims responsibility for suicide bombing on Afghan capital's Jalalabad Road which has left five people dead. Last updated: 27 Nov 2014 08:23

Thursday's attack occurred on Kabul's Jalalabad Road, which houses foreign compounds and military facilities [AFP]

A suicide attack on a foreign convoy on Kabul's Jalalabad Road has left at least five people dead and 20 others wounded, according to Afghanistan's Health Ministry. General Ayoub Salangi, Afghanistan's deputy interior minister, said the attacker was riding a motorcycle during Thursday's attack. The Taliban claimed responsibilty for the attack, saying that it had killed many foreigners. INTERACTIVE: Drawdown in Afghanistan The British embassy in Kabul confirmed to Al Jazeera that one of their vehicles were hit in the attack, adding that there were no diplomats in the vehicle, and that a number of its staff were being treated for injuries. The explosion could be heard across Kabul and a plume of smoke rose high into the air above the attack site on the Jalalabad Road, a main route that houses many foreign compounds and military facilities. The bombing is the latest in a wave of attacks to hit Kabul as the majority of foreign combat troops withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of the year after 13 years of war against the Taliban and its allies. Fears are growing that Afghanistan could tip into a cycle of violence as the NATO military presence declines, with the national security forces already suffering high battlefield casualties. President Ashraf Ghani, who came to power in September, has vowed to bring peace to Afghanistan after decades of conflict, saying he is open to talks with the Taliban, who ruled Kabul from 1996 to 2001. Ghani finally emerged as president after signing a power-sharing deal with his poll rival Abdullah Abdullah. Both men claimed to have won fraud-tainted elections in a prolonged stand-off that caused political paralysis in Kabul and fuelled worsening violence nationwide. Meanwhile, Britain ended its 13-year military presence in southern Afghanistan this week, when the last Royal Air Force personnel departed Kandahar airfield. The British military contribution next year will be the supervision of an officers' training academy outside Kabul.