A huge car bomb less than 100 years from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul killed at least 16 people, including two American soldiers, and wounded 29 others. The blast tore a military vehicle into two burning chunks, scattering debris and body parts. It dug a 6-foot-wide crater and left body parts, Muslim prayer caps, floppy khaki-colored military hats and shoes scattered on the ground.
President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack, saying, "Today's heinous act of terrorism is against the values of Islam and humanity."
"The fighting is extraordinarily intense. The intensity and ferocity of the fighting is far greater than in Iraq on a daily basis," said Brig. Ed Butler, the commander of British Forces in Afghanistan. He echoed NATO commander Gen. James L. Jones' call Thursday for more troops. Jones, who said the next few weeks would be decisive in the fight against militants, was expected to press officials from the 26 NATO member states for more soldiers and air support at talks being held in Poland on Friday and Saturday.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf conceded yesterday that al-Qaeda and Taliban insurgents have been crossing the border into Afghanistan to mount attacks but denied that he or his government were backing them. In a major policy shift that may cost him support at home, Musharraf pledged to seek out and destroy the command structure of insurgents apparently linked to the Taliban, the first time he's agreed to do so. The concession comes a little more than a week after the Christian Science Monitor reported on the thousands that cross the border with little or no checks on a daily basis.
Afghan officials have long contended that Pakistan has harbored Taliban leaders and fighters and has done too little to keep them from crossing into Afghanistan and carrying out attacks. Karzai applauded Musharraf's statements and said, "I was very happy to hear this was not sponsored by Pakistan."
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