Taliban Bomber Stage Attack Close To Kabul Airport

Pakistan Army General Raheel Sharif, met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in an attempt to improve regional security and prepare the way for fresh peace talks with the Taliban.

The casualties, all civilians, included eight children, Afghanistan’s Health Ministry reported.

The Taliban militant group has intensified their attacks on foreign and governmental installations recently.

The incident came days after seven people were killed in an assault near the Spanish embassy in Kabul for which the Taliban claimed responsibility.

MOHAMMAD ISMAIL/REUTERS An injured Afghan woman is loaded into an ambulance by fist responders and her relatives after a suicide bombing that killed one person near the Kabul airport.

General Raheel Sharif, whose influence on Pakistani policy extends well beyond the normal remit of an army commander, was in Washington last month where President Barack Obama and officials pushed hard for a return to talks with the Taliban. Afghanistan sees the support of Pakistan as vital to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table.

But despite the growing bonhomie with Islamabad, analysts caution that any substantive talks are still a long way off.

According to a Taliban statement, the attack targeted a foreign military convoy – specifically a minibus carrying Americans and Europeans from a nearby military base to the airport.

Pakistan hosted a milestone first round of talks in July but the negotiations stalled when the insurgents belatedly confirmed the death of longtime leader Mullah Omar.

In a brief statement, the worldwide military coalition ruled out any North Atlantic Treaty Organisation fatalities.

They have also been involved in heavy fighting in their historic heartland in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, where they have been battling government forces for weeks for control of Sangin district.

Afghan security forces investigate at the blast site.