Roadside blast hits Afghan army bus

updated 1:08 a.m. ET May 3, 2007

KABUL, Afghanistan - A remote-control bomb hit an Afghan army bus in Kabul on Thursday, killing the driver and wounding 29 people, including 22 soldiers, officials said.

The bomb was placed in a cart on the side of the road and exploded when the bus passed by, said Ali Riza, an Afghan National Army officer at the scene.

The driver of the bus was killed and 22 soldiers were wounded, said Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, a defense ministry spokesman.

Seven civilians also were wounded, said Ali Shah Paktiawal, the Kabul police director of criminal investigation. He said the army was the target.

Sardar Mohammad, an eyewitness, said that the explosion sent the bus crashing into a wall.

The front of the bus was badly damaged, while windows of nearby houses and shops were shattered. The powerful blast also knocked out electricity in the neighborhood.

Insurgents regularly target members of fledgling Afghan security forces in their drive to undermine the government of President Hamid Karzai.

According to an Associated Press tally, more than 180 members of Afghanistan’s security forces have been killed by insurgents so far in 2007.

MORE FROM SOUTH & CENTRAL ASIA

South & Central Asia Section Front

NYT: Slim majority backs Afghan troop plan Details sketchy on bin Laden's whereabouts 5 Americans probed for terror links Petraeus warns new surge progress will be slow General: Bin Laden capture key to U.S. efforts Wild elephant kills 11 in southern Nepal Gates reassures Afghans over U.S. commitment Where climate change a matter of life and death Boats call off search in Bangladesh pirate attack Cops: Blast near Pakistan spy office kills 12 South & Central Asia Section Front   Add South & Central Asia headlines to your news reader: