A massive truck bomb exploded near the home of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar in Kandahar yesterday, killing at least 10 people, 3 of whom were body guards. The blast injured many more, and shattering the doors and windows of buildings up to one kilometer (0.6 miles) away.
According to the Afghan Islamic Press, the bomb created a crater that was roughly the size of a tennis court. Taliban guards were trying to move the truck from the area at the time of the explosion. Mulla Omar reportedly left the area only moments before the blast.
Taliban spokesman Abdul Hai Muttmain said he suspected that the United States was responsible for the bombing, which damaged the compound which serves as the Taliban’s headquarters. Fazl-e-Rehman Khalil, leader of Pakistan’s militant Islamic group Harakat-ul-Mujahedeen, told News Network International, “The bombing was the worst kind of terrorism and the United States was responsible.”
The White House has denied any involvement in the bombing, saying “there is no truth at all to any report of U.S. government involvement.”
