US Embassy, NATO mission condemn Kabul attack

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – The Latest on the rush-hour explosion that struck the Afghan capital, Kabul (all times local):

3:30 p.m.

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul and the NATO mission have condemned the massive bombing that killed 80 people near the German Embassy in the Afghan capital earlier in the day.

America’s top diplomat to Kabul, Special Chargé d’Affaires Hugo Llorens said Wednesday’s “horrific and shameful attack demonstrates these terrorists’ complete disregard for human life and their nihilistic opposition to the dream of a peaceful future for Afghanistan.”

Llorens offered his “deepest condolences to the families of all those killed and hope for the speedy recovery of the injured.”

The Kabul headquarters of NATO’s mission to Afghanistan also denounced the car bombing which the alliance said went off near Zambaq Square, close to the area housing several diplomatic and government facilities.

The U.S. Embassy is not located there but in another part of the city, about a kilometer (half mile) away.

The NATO statement praised “the courage of Afghan Security Forces, especially the police and first responders. Attacks such as these only serve to strengthen our commitment to our Afghan partners as they seek a peaceful, stable future for their country.”

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2:40 p.m.

The BBC says a driver for the broadcaster was killed and four of its journalists were injured in the massive car bombing in Kabul.

BBC World Service director Francesca Unsworth says Mohammed Nazir, who had worked for the BBC Afghan Service for four years, was killed as he was driving colleagues to work.

She says the four journalists have been treated at a hospital, and their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

Unsworth says the attack is “a devastating loss to the BBC and to Mohammed Nazir’s friends and family.

Afghan officials say 80 people died and 350 were wounded in the attack.

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