Suicide car bomb kills 41 in central Kabul

White House offers condolences
In Washington, the White House offered condolences to the victims.

"Extremists continue to show their disregard for all human life and their willingness to kill fellow Muslims as well as others," said Gordon Johndroe, a White House national security spokesman. "The United States stands with the people of Afghanistan and India as we face this common enemy."

Afghanistan has seen a sharp rise in violence from Taliban militants in recent months. Insurgents are packing bombs with more explosives than ever, one reason why more U.S. and NATO troops were killed in June than any month since the 2001 invasion.

Still, no one claimed responsibility for the blast, and a Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, denied the militants were behind it. The Taliban tend to claim responsibility for attacks against international or Afghan troops and deny responsibility for bombs that primarily kill civilians.

"Whenever we do a suicide attack, we confirm it," Mujahid said. "The Taliban did not do this one."

The explosion was the deadliest in Afghanistan since a suicide bomber killed more than 100 people at a dog fighting competition in Kandahar in February.

The Indian embassy in the last several days had beefed up security by installing large, dirt-filled blast walls often used by military forces.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said the attack would not deter its country's mission to fulfill "our commitments to the government and people of Afghanistan."

Pakistan views with suspicion India's involvement in Afghanistan, including the millions of dollars donated for reconstruction and the thousands of Indian engineers and laborers helping to build roads and other infrastructure.

Distrust among Pakistanis
Pakistanis are also wary of Indian consulates that have been established in the outlying cities of Kandahar, Jalalabad, Herat, and Mazar-i-Sharif. But Indian officials say they are there to support reconstruction. Militants have frequently attacked Indian offices and projects around Afghanistan.

"We have lost Indians who were helping their Afghan brothers to rebuild their lives and country. That endeavor must continue with renewed commitment," Manmohan Singh, the Indian prime minister, told reporters. "We will do all that we can to help them bear their loss and grief. This is our pledge."

Ikram Sehgal, a political analyst in Pakistan, said he doubts Pakistan's intelligence service was behind the attack. He instead blamed Pashtuns — the largest of Afghan ethnic groups that also forms the core of the Taliban insurgency.

"The Indians were asking for it," Sehgal said. "They have set up so many consulates along the border," Sehgal said. "It was question of time. The (Pashtuns) see them as enemies, actually. They had to react to the Indians setting up consulates there."

Pakistan and India have fought three wars since their independence from Britain in 1947. Kashmir is divided between Pakistan and India, and India says Kashmiri militant groups — which are seeking independence or to merge Kashmir with Pakistan — get military and financial support from Islamabad. Pakistan says it only supports the rebels' cause morally.

Troubled relations to likely worsen
Afghanistan's allegations that Pakistan was involved in Monday's attack will probably only sour already troubled relations.

Late last month, a spokesman for Afghanistan's intelligence agency accused Pakistan's premier spy agency of organizing an April assassination attempt on Karzai.

Afghan leaders also allege that Pakistan secretly supported a June 13 insurgent attack on a prison in the southern city of Kandahar that freed 400 Taliban fighters.

And Karzai last month threatened to send Afghan troops after Taliban leaders in Pakistan, saying he had had enough of cross-border militants attacks.

Afghanistan Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta visited the embassy shortly after the attack and said the blast would not harm relations between the two countries.

The United Nations and NATO's International Security Assistance Force both condemned the attack.

"The total disregard for innocent lives is staggering, and those behind this must be held responsible," said U.N. envoy Kai Eide.

The embassy attack was the sixth suicide bombing in Kabul this year. Insurgent violence has killed more than 2,200 people — mostly militants — in Afghanistan in 2008, according to an Associated Press count of official figures.

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