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Afghan Suicide Attack Kills 5 Americans Five Killed in Year’s Deadliest Attack on Americans in Afghanistan
(about 1 hour later)
KABUL, Afghanistan — A suicide car bomb in southern Afghanistan killed three American soldiers and two American civilians on Saturday, the deadliest single attack against United States forces this year, officials said. KABUL, Afghanistan — A suicide car bomb in southern Afghanistan killed three American soldiers and two American civilians, including a State Department Foreign Service officer, on Saturday, the deadliest single attack against United States forces this year, officials said.
The bomber detonated his vehicle on a road around 11 a.m. as an American convoy passed by, according to American and Afghan officials. The violence came as Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan. Attacks are picking up in what is known as the country’s fighting season as the weather gets warmer. And the Taliban are expected to intensify their efforts to destabilize the Afghan security forces as the NATO troops who have secured the country for the last decade start packing up for their departure at the end of 2014.
The convoy was accompanying the governor of Zabul Province on a trip to inaugurate a new school in Qalat, the provincial capital. The suicide bomber detonated his vehicle on a road in Zabul Province around 11 a.m. as an American convoy passed by, according to American and Afghan officials. The convoy was accompanying the provincial governor on a trip to inaugurate a new school in Qalat, the provincial capital.
One of the civilians worked for the State Department and was traveling to the school to donate books, the officials said. The United States government did not immediately identify the victims, but they included a Department of Defense employee, service members and the Foreign Service officer. Four other State Department employees were wounded, one critically.
“We know too well the risks in the world today for all of our State Department personnel at home and around the world — Foreign Service, Civil Service, political appointees, locally employed staff and so many others,” Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement. “Every day, we honor their courage and are grateful for their sacrifices, and today we do so with great sadness.” Secretary of State John Kerry said that he had met the State Department officer during his visit late last month to Kabul. She had been assigned to provide him logistical support during his trip. “She was everything a Foreign Service officer should be: smart, capable, eager to serve and deeply committed to our country and the difference she was making for the Afghan people,” Mr. Kerry said in a statement on Saturday. The Americans, with Afghan colleagues, were delivering donated books to a school in the provincial capital, Qalat.
Violence in Afghanistan is likely to pick up in the coming weeks and months, as the warm weather spreads. Further, as the NATO troops who have secured the country for the last decade pack up and leave at the end of 2014, the Taliban are expected to intensify their efforts to destabilize the Afghan security forces, who are taking over the battle. Mr. Kerry, traveling to the Middle East on Saturday, spoke to the woman’s parents. “As a father of two daughters,” Mr. Kerry said in a statement in strikingly personal terms, “I can’t imagine what her family is feeling today, or her friends and colleagues.”
The Taliban claimed responsibility for Saturday’s blast, which occurred near a coalition base and killed an Afghan doctor accompanying the governor, said Muhammad Jan Rasoolyar, the deputy governor. The governor survived the attack, which also wounded several Americans and Afghans, including two of the governor’s bodyguards. The State Department said four of its employees were wounded, one critically.
It is unclear whether the attack was aimed at the coalition forces or the governor. The bombing was the deadliest for Americans since July, when a bomb in Wardak Province killed six United States service members, American officials said.
In a separate attack, an American civilian was killed in an insurgent strike in the east of the country, bringing Saturday’s American death toll to six. So far this year, 30 coalition troops have died in Afghanistan, 24 of them Americans, according to Icasualties, a Web site that tracks military fatalities.In a separate attack, an American civilian was killed in an insurgent strike in the east of the country, bringing Saturday’s American death toll to six. So far this year, 30 coalition troops have died in Afghanistan, 24 of them Americans, according to Icasualties, a Web site that tracks military fatalities.
The attacks come on the heels of a major Taliban assault in Farah Province last week that killed at least 44 people. Insurgents stormed the government compound in the capital, setting off a seven-hour gun battle that wounded more than 100 people. Saturday’s attack, by contrast, was less complex, with no guns involved. The attacks came on the heels of a major Taliban assault in Farah Province last week that killed at least 44 people. In that strike, insurgents stormed a government compound, setting off a seven-hour gun battle that wounded more than 100 people. That attack highlighted the deteriorating security situation in Farah, a restive province that borders Iran to the west.
The death tolls for coalition forces and Afghans have reversed as Afghans have taken the lead in battle, with Afghans now making up the vast majority of victims of combat-related deaths. The Taliban claimed responsibility for Saturday’s blast, which occurred near a coalition base and also killed an Afghan doctor accompanying the governor, said Muhammad Jan Rasoolyar, the deputy governor. The governor survived the attack, which also killed two of the governor’s bodyguards.

Taimoor Shah contributed reporting from Kandahar, Afghanistan.

It is unclear whether the attack was aimed at the coalition forces or the governor. The bombing was the deadliest for Americans since July, when a bomb in Wardak Province killed six United States service members, American officials said.

Steven Lee Myers contributed reporting from Washington, and Taimoor Shah from Kandahar, Afghanistan.