By Xinhua,
Kabul : Both Afghanistan and the special envoy of UN Secretary General to the war-torn country have termed the car-bomb suicide attack against the Indian embassy on Monday an act of terrorism and condemned it.
“The government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan strongly condemns today’s terrorist attack on the embassy of the friendly and brother country of India,” a statement released by the Afghan foreign ministry said.
It also added that such gruesome incidents will not undermine the friendly relations between the two nations.
Minutes after the deadly incident, Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta visited the Indian embassy and expressed condolence and sympathy with people and the government of India as well as with the victims’ families.
Kai Eide, the special envoy of UN Secretary General to Afghanistan, also in a statement issued by UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), strongly denounced the incident.
“I condemn it in the strongest possible terms. In no culture, no country, and no religion is there any excuse or justification for such acts. The total disregard for innocent lives is staggering and those behind this must be held responsible,” the statement added.
In the attack, the deadliest one over the past couple of years in the Afghan capital, according to a statement of the Interior Ministry, more than 100 people were killed and injured, and of these only 11 are police constables and the remaining are civilians.
However, an official of the interior ministry Najib Nikzad earlier put the number of those killed as high as 40 while Abdullah Fahim, the spokesman of the Public Health Ministry, said 28 were killed and 141 sustained injuries.
More than 2,000 people, including over 700 civilians, have been killed in violent incidents so far this year in Afghanistan.