October 03, 2007	Wednesday	Ramazan 20, 1428

KABUL, Oct 2: A suicide bomber blew up a police bus in Kabul on Tuesday, killing 13 people, including a mother and her two children, in a new Taliban attack just days after another claimed 30 lives here.

The rush-hour suicide blast in the west of the city ripped off the sides and roof of the bus, which was smeared in blood and flesh. Parts of seats were flung into nearby trees.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said the militia was responsible for the carnage. It also claimed Friday’s attack on a defence ministry bus that killed 30.

The attacker, strapped with explosives, had tried to board the bus but a policeman on the vehicle became suspicious and shot him, interior ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary said.

Wounded, the bomber still managed to detonate his explosives, Bashary said.

“Thirteen Afghans lost their lives – eight police and five civilians, including a mother and two of her children,” Health Minister Sayed Mohammad Amin Fatemi said. Ten others were wounded, two critically, he said.

The minister, who had earlier visited the scene of the blast, expressed outrage.

“This was an anti-human act that scars the heart of every Afghan,” he said. “I hope the Afghan nation never forgives the perpetrators. I believe God will never forgive them.”

A resident of the area, named only Atiqullah, said he heard a ‘terrible explosion’. “I stepped out of the house and I saw thick, black smoke. When I ran to the blast site, I saw around four civilians, including a woman and a child, who were dead being carried to a car,” the 28-year-old said.

“I cannot describe the scene – blood, bones and flesh. These poor people in this holy month.”

The Taliban had vowed a campaign of attacks for Ramazan, which will end in two weeks. There have been six suicide attacks that have caused casualties since Ramadan started in mid-September.

Adding his condemnation, President Hamid Karzai said the attack was a sign of ‘savagery’ and ‘evil’. Those behind such attacks “will face punishment for their actions”, he said in a statement.

In its reaction, the Nato military force said such attacks “will not deter us in our commitment to create a better Afghanistan”. Desperate to end the spiralling violence, Karzai at the weekend offered to negotiate with the fugitive leader of the Taliban, Mullah Mohammad Omar, if it could help bring peace.

The Taliban have said they will only talk if foreign troops quit Afghanistan, a demand Karzai has rejected.—AFP