Dec 6 (Reuters) – A Taliban suicide bomber posing as a peace messenger wounded Afghanistan’s intelligence chief in Kabul today, another sign that the government is struggling to improve security ahead of a NATO pullout in 2014.
Asadullah Khalid was wounded when the bomber struck in a meeting at a guesthouse used by the National Directorate of Security (NDS).
“The bomber was a peace messenger sent by the Taliban to the Afghan government, around 3 p.m. in a meeting with the head of NDS, detonated his explosives,” said NDS spokesman Shafiqullah Tahiri.
“Right now the head of the NDS is in good condition. The surgery was a success.”
The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing, which highlighted Afghanistan’s ongoing instability as U.S.-led NATO troops prepare to withdraw by the end of 2014.
After more than 10 years of war against Western forces as well as Afghan troops, militants are capable of striking in the heart of the capital.
The attack was almost a carbon copy of last year’s assassination of Afghanistan’s chief peace negotiator, Burhanuddin Rabbani.
He died at his Kabul home when an insurgent posing as a peace envoy detonated explosives concealed in a turban.
The Afghan government has failed to draw the Taliban into face-to-face talks.
In a video message released by his office, President Hamid Karzai said:
“The head of the NDS is now undergoing surgery … the chief of the hospital has told me he is in a good condition and now we hope he will recover and he will be sent for further treatment elsewhere.”
