Taken from my office balcony, smoke rises just 3km away from the massive explosion that rattled windows all over the city center just after 8:30 this (monday) morning.
My office-mate stepped outside on the balcony to chat on his cell phone, then BAM!! all the windows shook, he immediately walked back in solid stiff while still holding his phone against his ear. I took my headphones off and asked him "was that what I thought it was?" - "oh yes" he replied. I walked out onto the balcony and saw everybody on the roof or other balconies watching the smoke rise.
The bomb ripped through the area in front of the Indian Embassy and Ministry of Interior killing over 40 people and injuring a further 141, many of whom were waiting in line for a visa. Others included people on the street and nearby shopkeepers. My office-mate's friend who works at the embassy said his office was 'destroyed', luckily for him, he wasn't there at the time. The walls were completely blown out from the blast.
It's a little scary, one of our local Afghan women working here was just talking to my office-mate yesterday about getting a visa to India (my office-mate is an Indian National). Sometimes things get too close.
First time witnessing such an event. They said it was the worst bombing in Kabul since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. And up until this morning, the year has been unusually quiet.
Photos from news sites:
(Photo: Associated Press)
it looks like that police officer is holding a RPG launcher
(Photo: New York Times)
Scene on the street near the Indian Embassy and the Ministry of Interior.
Washington Post
New York Times
BBC World News
didn't really do much work for the rest of the day.
F.Y.I. SVBIED stands for Suicide Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device, a more specific version of an IED.
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