NATO coalition convoy struck in Kabul

KABUL, Afghanistan A suicide attack struck a NATO coalition convoy in downtown Kabul Thursday morning, killing two people.

At about 8:30 a.m. a suicide bomber in a Toyota Corolla attacked two vehicles belonging to Turkish members of the NATO-led Resolute Support mission, said Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai.

The blast killed at least one Turkish individual and one Afghan civilian bystander, as well as the attacker, he said. The Associated Press, citing the Turkish military, reported that one Turkish soldier was killed and another was wounded in the attack.

Coalition officials confirmed that it was one of their convoys but did not release any information on casualties.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in an online post.

The purpose of today's attack in Kabul was a U.S. convoy, the embassy or any other country nationals were not objective, the groups spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, wrote on Twitter.

The recently appointed NATO civilian representative to Afghanistan, Ismail Aramaz, who is Turkish, had been reported to be the target of the attack. But NATO spokesman Chris Chambers told Stars and Stripes that Aramaz was at his residence, not in the vehicles, at the time of the blast.

The attack occurred deep in the heart of Kabul in an area that hosts the embassies of Turkey and Iran, among other government buildings.

smith.josh@stripes.com Twitter: @joshjonsmith

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NATO coalition convoy struck in Kabul