BREAKING: Car bomb blast near high-security compound in Kabul kills four, 90 wounded

January 15, 2019  01H:09  GMT/UTC/ZULU

by Sunita Kureishi and Biodun Iginla, BBC News and Reuters, KABUL

KABUL  - At least four people were killed and 90 wounded when a bomb-laden car blew up near a high-security compound in the Afghan capital Kabul on Monday, officials said.

Afghan injured men receive treatment at a hospital after a car bomb blast in Kabul, Afghanistan January 14, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani

An Afghan government security official said the blast occurred on Jalalabad Road in eastern Kabul near the Green Village compound, home to several international companies and charities.

“Most of the victims were civilians,” said Najib Danish, an Interior Ministry spokesman. Twenty-three children were among the injured, he added.

Police spokesman Basir Mujahid said a vehicle full of explosives had been detonated. “The area is cordoned off ... and search operation underway for suspects and attackers,” he said.

“It was a powerful car bomb that knocked (down) a wall between Green Village and the customs office,” a security source said.

Hayat Khan was having dinner with his family at his home when the explosion shattered the windows.

“All of my family are wounded. They have received injuries on the head, hands, legs and on the neck,” he said.

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Khan and his family were being treated at the Wazir Akbar Khan hospital, where a Reuters witness saw dozens of severely injured people who had been rushed there from the blast site.

An official at Kabul’s Emergency Hospital said 15 wounded had been brought there.

A senior Interior Ministry official said the explosion destroyed at least three checkpoints.

“Residential buildings nearby have sustained heavy damage and several private guards around the Green Village checkpoints were critically injured,” the official said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing. Green Village has come under Islamist militant attack in the past.

The latest attack comes as U.S. special peace envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad tours the region for meetings aimed at bringing an end to the 17-year war in Afghanistan.

Last week, Taliban leaders called off a fourth round of talks with U.S. officials in Qatar due to an “agenda disagreement” and refused to allow what they called “puppet” Afghan government officials join the talk.

There has been no lull in fighting even as the talks intensify and the Taliban carry out near-daily attacks, mainly targeting security forces, government officials and civilians as human shields.

The last major attack in the capital took place in late December when 43 were killed inside a government compound targeted by a suicide bomber and extremists armed with assault rifles. No group has claimed responsibility for the incident.

Khalilzad, ex-top US diplomat, in laundering probe

Sep 8, 10:39 AM EDT

By Natalie de Vallieres and Biodun Iginla, BBC News

AP Photo/David Karp

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VIENNA  -- Zalmay Khalilzad, who served as U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq and the United Nations under President George W. Bush, is being investigated by American authorities for suspected money laundering, Austrian officials said Monday.

State prosecutor Thomas Vecsey confirmed a report in the Austrian weekly Profil about the investigation of Khalilzad, who played a key role in the political transition in Afghanistan after the 2001 U.S.-led invasion and the fall of the Taliban.

According to the magazine, the investigation centers on the alleged transfer of 1.15 million euros ($1.5 million) in May 2013 to an account in Vienna owned by Khalilzad's wife, Cheryl Benard. The money came from business activities in Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, it reported. Vecsey would not elaborate on the allegations, nor did the magazine's report.

Profil said the case became public after a blogger found documents while rummaging through a garbage container used by the state prosecutor's office in Vienna.

The magazine said several bank accounts owned by Benard were ordered frozen in February - a ruling that is under appeal. Benard's lawyer, Holger Bielesz, told Profil that U.S. authorities have yet to express "reasonable grounds for suspicions."

Khalilzad was born in Afghanistan and went to the United States as an exchange student. He later became a professor and a favorite of Republican presidents, especially Bush.

Khalilzad was the U.S. special presidential envoy to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2003, then U.S. ambassador there until 2005. He was the ambassador to Iraq from 2005 to 2007, and the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations from 2007 to 2009.

Many Afghan officials and foreign observers saw Khalilzad as the country's de-facto ruler in the initial months after the Taliban's collapse. He took center stage organizing the traditional grand councils, or loya jirgas, that would eventually approve Afghanistan's constitution.

In the private sector, Khalilzad is founder and president of Gryphon Partners, which advises companies and wealthy individuals on business opportunities in several industries and regions, including high-risk territories.

He sits on the boards of the National Endowment for Democracy, America Abroad Media, the Mideast studies center at Rand Corp., the American University of Iraq and the American University of Afghanistan. He also is a counselor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and writes about foreign policy issues and frequently appears on U.S. news shows.

Khalilzad holds bachelor's and master's degrees from the American University of Beirut, as well as a doctorate from the University of Chicago.