12 dead as blast targets Kabul's Indian embassy.

A huge suicide car bomb struck near the Indian embassy in Kabul on Thursday, killing at least 12 people and injuring 83 in the latest in a wave of deadly attacks on the Afghan capital, officials said.<p>Windows were blown from dozens of shops and survivors staggered around the bloodied streets in the heavily fortified central diplomatic area, after the fifth suicide strike in Kabul in two months.

"As a result of a suicide car bomb attack today, 12 people were martyred and 83 were wounded. Most of the casualties are civilians," Interior Ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary said.

In a statement, Afghan President Hamid Karzai called the perpetrators "barbaric" and said: "This is a terrorist attack, and an obvious attack on defenceless Afghan civilians."

Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said in New Delhi that his country's fortress-like embassy was "obviously" the intended target.

Rao said no Indians were killed in the blast, but three members of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police force who were guarding the embassy had received shrapnel injuries.

A similar suicide attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul in July 2008 killed 60 people and was blamed on Taliban, sending tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad soaring.

Tap 2009

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