Kabul again blames intelligence service for blast (2nd Roundup)

Jul 8, 2008, 13:57 GMT

Kabul - Afghanistan's government Tuesday again blamed foreign intelligence agents for the suicide bombing that killed 40 near the Indian embassy as a soldier died in another attack.

'We believe that there is a particular intelligence agency behind this attack,' presidential spokesman Homayun Hamidzada said, echoing a statement by the interior ministry immediately after Monday's blast.

Neither mentioned which intelligence service was involved, but the remarks were taken by many as referring to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), which Kabul believes has been aiding Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgents launching cross-border attacks into Afghanistan.

Pakistan Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday denied the ISI was involved in the blast, which claimed the lives of four Indians.

'Why should Pakistan destabilize Afghanistan, as it is in our interest to have a stable Afghanistan?' Gilani said at a Muslim summit in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.

Meanwhile, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), said Tuesday that one of its soldiers was killed and four wounded when an explosive device went off near their patrol in the eastern province of Kunar.

In a separate incident in the same province, Taliban insurgents aiming at foreign troops injured five children in a rocket attack in Narai district.

Muhammad Jalal Jalal, the police chief of Kunar, said the missiles missed their target and hit a playground, causing injuries to the children that were not life-threatening.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahi said the attack resulted in heavy casualties for NATO-led troops.

Meanwhile, local officials in eastern Nangarhar province said at least eight insurgents were killed and several wounded during operations in Khogyani and Sherzad districts.

Ahmad Zia, spokesman for the Nangarhar governor, said the operation aimed at eliminating militants in an area where foreign fighters were assisting the Taliban.

In another development, US-led coalition forces killed one militant and detained two others in an anti-Taliban operation in Wardak province, west of Kabul.