Kabul blast outside India embassy

Aftermath of Kabul blast At least 12 people have been killed and more than 80 injured in a car bomb explosion in the Afghan capital, Kabul. The blast occurred near the interior ministry office and the Indian embassy. Officials said it was a suicide attack. Eyewitnesses reported glass and debris scattered in the street and a plume of smoke rising above the area. India's foreign secretary Nirupama Rao said she believed the attack was aimed against the embassy as the bomber had driven his car up to its outer wall.Kabul has witnessed a number of attacks in recent months. Last month six Italian soldiers were killed in a bomb attack on a military convoy. Most of the attacks have targeted international forces or government offices - but Afghan civilians are invariably killed as well. The latest blast hit at 0827 local time (0353 GMT), as residents were arriving to work. Television pictures showed charred vehicles at the site and ambulances speeding to the location. An eyewitness, Habib Jan, told the BBC the victims were civilians. "A [Toyota] Corolla car was parked in front of the Indian embassy. It was rush hour, about 10 minutes after I arrived at the office when we heard an explosion. "There were lots of workers cleaning the street - most of them have been killed."Nirupama Rao told reporters that she believed "the suicide bomb was directed against the Indian embassy". "The suicide bomber came up to the outer perimeter wall of the embassy in a car loaded with explosives," she said. Three Indian paramilitary troops guarding the embassy received minor shrapnel injuries, the minister added. The Afghan Interior Ministry said 12 people had died, and 84 had been wounded in the attack. Eleven of the dead were civilians and one was an Afghan police officer. The BBC's Martin Patience, in Kabul, says there appears to be a lot of damage at the scene - now sealed off - and that municipal workers have moved into the area with brooms to begin a clean-up. This is thought to be the fourth bomb attack in Kabul since August. Until the summer, the Afghan capital was regarded as relatively secure, but that is changing, our correspondent says. Insurgents are increasingly targeting the capital because of the publicity it attracts. Militants seem to be able to attack at will in what should be one of the most secure areas of the country, our correspondent adds. In July 2008 a suicide bomber rammed a car full of explosives into the gates of the Indian embassy in Kabul, killing dozens of people and injuring more than 140.