Car bomber killed in Kandahar

Published March 20, 2006

KANDAHAR, March 19: A suicide car bomber was killed on Sunday when he rammed his vehicle into a US-led coalition convoy in southern Afghanistan, a witness and an official said but there were no military casualties. A local police commander in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar said the convoy comprised several vehicles of French troops operating under the US-led coalition in the region.

“No one but the attacker was killed in the explosion. It was a suicide car bomb,” the commander said.

Abdullah, 22, a shopkeeper in Spin Boldak said he saw the explosives-packed vehicle slam into the convoy.

“I saw it. It was a (Toyota) Corolla car which hit itself into the convoy. Later I heard a huge bang and saw a big fire,” M. Abdullah told AFP after being contacted from the nearby Kandahar city.

The US-led coalition headquarters in Kabul gave no comment.

The police commander said Sunday’s bomber was most likely a foreigner as Pakistani currency and telephone numbers were found on his body.

“We believe he was a foreign national. We found lots of Pakistani currency and a list of Pakistani telephone numbers in his pocket,” he told AFP.

Around 200 French special forces are operating under the US-led coalition force in Kandahar while another 600 are taking part in the Nato-led peacekeeping force in Kabul.

Earlier this month a French soldier died in a clash with suspected Taliban rebels in Kandahar. —AFP

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