November 28, 2008	Friday	Ziqa'ad 29, 1429

KABUL, Nov 27: A suicide bomber killed four people near the US embassy in Kabul on Thursday, underscoring Afghanistan’s deteriorating security, but a UN Security Council delegation said the situation was not out of control.

Violence in Afghanistan has reached its worst level this year since US soldiers and their Afghan allies toppled the Taliban in 2001, raising doubts about international efforts to bring stability despite an increasing number of foreign troops.

The suicide car-bomber blew himself up as military convoy was passing on a road about 150 metres from a traffic junction with access to the US embassy and the Health Ministry.

The presidential palace said four civilians were killed.

Twenty people, all civilians, were wounded, a Health Ministry doctor said.

No one from the US embassy was hurt, an embassy spokesman said. Most staff were off work for the US Thanksgiving holiday.

Later, wrapping up a three-day visit, a delegation of UN Security Council ambassadors and envoys said while Afghanistan was going through a sensitive period, there were new grounds for “cautious optimism”.—Reuters