News & Observer | newsobserver.com | Afghans see Pakistan behind blast

Published: Jul 09, 2008 12:30 AM
Modified: Jul 09, 2008 01:42 AM

Afghans see Pakistan behind blast

 

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KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - Afghanistan blamed a foreign intelligence agency Tuesday for the bombing of the Indian Embassy in Kabul, making a veiled but clear reference to its eastern neighbor, Pakistan.

The accusation came as the commander of the NATO military mission in Afghanistan, U.S. Army Gen. David D. McKiernan, said increased Afghan violence is due in part to a porous border that allows insurgents to resupply in Pakistan and cross freely into Afghanistan.

President Hamid Karzai's spokesman said Afghan officials have evidence showing foreigners were behind Monday's suicide bombing at the embassy that killed 41 people, the deadliest attack in the capital since 2001. He did not provide any specifics.

Humayun Hamidzada did not mention Pakistan's intelligence agency by name but told reporters it was "pretty obvious" who was behind the attack. Afghanistan previously blamed Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, for a recent assassination attempt on Karzai.

"The sophistication of this attack, and the kind of material that was used in it and the specific targeting, everything has the hallmark of a particular intelligence agency that has conducted similar terrorist acts inside Afghanistan in the past. We have sufficient evidence to say that," Hamidzada said.

"The project was designed outside Afghanistan. It was exported to Afghanistan," he added.

Among the blast's victims were four Indians working in the embassy, including the military attache and a diplomat.

Pakistan's prime minister denied its intelligence service was responsible. Speaking in Malaysia on Tuesday, Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said his country has no interest in destabilizing Afghanistan when both countries are fighting terrorist groups.

"We want stability in the region. We ourselves are a victim of terrorism and extremism," Gilani said on the sidelines of a summit of eight developing Islamic nations.

His government has condemned Monday's attack, saying it wants to push forward with a four-year effort to reach peace with longtime rival India.

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