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British soldier killed in Afghan blast
Agencies
Wednesday January 28, 2004
The Guardian
A British soldier died today and four others were injured following an explosion near a military base in the Afghan capital Kabul, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.
The suspected attack on a vehicle carrying the British soldiers, who form part of an international peacekeeping force, came at around 6.30am (UK time).
A spokesman for the MoD said: "We have had a fatality in Afghanistan. The total number is one fatality and four injured. The explosion took place at 11am local time."
Reports suggested the explosion could have been the result of a suicide bomb attack on the British vehicle.
But the MoD spokesman said it was not yet known whether it had been caused by a suicide attack or a makeshift bomb.
"We are still trying to get people down to the scene," he said. "All we know is that there was an explosion involving one of our vehicles."
He added that he did not know whether any of the four injured British soldiers had been seriously hurt.
The explosion came at around the same time as a suspected suicide attack just east of Kabul, near a German military base, that injured five foreigners. Both attacks happened during a memorial ceremony for a Canadian soldier, who was killed in a suicide attack in Kabul yesterday.
International troops and Afghan authorities closed off the scene of the attack on the British patrol, on Jalalabad Road, about 1.25 miles from the Germans base. From nearby, two burned-out jeeps could be seen - apparently Land Rovers that are used by British troops. Mullah Hakim Latifi, who claims to speak for the former Taliban regime, said it had carried out the attacks.
"We are compelled to attack the foreigners to defend our country, religion and honour," he said in a satellite telephone call to the Associated Press.
His claim could not be independently verified.
Mr Latifi also claimed Taliban responsibility for yesterday‘s attack and alleged it would be the start of a campaign of suicide bombings across the country. At today‘s memorial, at least one of the new blasts was heard during the ceremony that took place as a heavy snowstorm buffeted the city.
The escalating violence comes the same week that President Hamid Karzai signed the country‘s post-Taliban constitution into law, with hopes that it can help bring the fractured country together after more than two decades of war.
A total of 346 British troops are in Afghanistan as part of the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf).
Agencies
Wednesday January 28, 2004
The Guardian
A British soldier died today and four others were injured following an explosion near a military base in the Afghan capital Kabul, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.
The suspected attack on a vehicle carrying the British soldiers, who form part of an international peacekeeping force, came at around 6.30am (UK time).
A spokesman for the MoD said: "We have had a fatality in Afghanistan. The total number is one fatality and four injured. The explosion took place at 11am local time."
Reports suggested the explosion could have been the result of a suicide bomb attack on the British vehicle.
But the MoD spokesman said it was not yet known whether it had been caused by a suicide attack or a makeshift bomb.
"We are still trying to get people down to the scene," he said. "All we know is that there was an explosion involving one of our vehicles."
He added that he did not know whether any of the four injured British soldiers had been seriously hurt.
The explosion came at around the same time as a suspected suicide attack just east of Kabul, near a German military base, that injured five foreigners. Both attacks happened during a memorial ceremony for a Canadian soldier, who was killed in a suicide attack in Kabul yesterday.
International troops and Afghan authorities closed off the scene of the attack on the British patrol, on Jalalabad Road, about 1.25 miles from the Germans base. From nearby, two burned-out jeeps could be seen - apparently Land Rovers that are used by British troops. Mullah Hakim Latifi, who claims to speak for the former Taliban regime, said it had carried out the attacks.
"We are compelled to attack the foreigners to defend our country, religion and honour," he said in a satellite telephone call to the Associated Press.
His claim could not be independently verified.
Mr Latifi also claimed Taliban responsibility for yesterday‘s attack and alleged it would be the start of a campaign of suicide bombings across the country. At today‘s memorial, at least one of the new blasts was heard during the ceremony that took place as a heavy snowstorm buffeted the city.
The escalating violence comes the same week that President Hamid Karzai signed the country‘s post-Taliban constitution into law, with hopes that it can help bring the fractured country together after more than two decades of war.
A total of 346 British troops are in Afghanistan as part of the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf).
