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U.S. envoy escapes attempt on life

Declan Walsh

Islamabad: The U.S. ambassador fled a central Afghan town after a Taliban suicide bomber killed 10 persons and wounded 50, further stoking fears of an Iraqi influence on the escalating militancy.

Ronald E Neumann was not hurt when a man exploded a landmine strapped to his body about 1.5 km the Governor's office in Tirin Kot, capital of Uruzgan province.

American bodyguards bundled him into a small room for 15 minutes before whisking him away, said Deputy Governor Abdul Aziz.

The provincial police chief was critically wounded in the attack. A purported Taliban spokesman, Qari Mohammad Yousuf, named a local Talib, Abdul Rahim, as the attacker. ``Our intention was to kill the U.S. ambassador,'' he told Reuters by satellite phone.

Mr. Neumann whose schedule is kept secret for security reasons, was in Tirin Kot to visit the U.S. military base and confer with provincial officials, said the embassy spokesman, Lou Fintor. The attack is the latest in a surge of suicide bomb attacks in the militant-infested central and southern provinces.

It comes just months before a British-led NATO mission assumes control from a shrinking American contingent.

More than 30 persons have died in 12 suicide bombings in the past three months amid reports of a link with the Iraqi militancy, possibly through returned Afghan fighters. —

© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

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