2 killed in attack targeted diplomat's vehicle in Kabul

One Turkish soldier and one Afghan passerby die in a suicide attack that targeted the vehicle of senior North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, NATO representative in Kabul, officials say.

"Two people were killed in the attack this morning, including an Afghan passerby," says Hashmat Stanikzai, a police official, reports dpa.

"A Turkish soldier has been martyred," says a Turkish diplomat who requested anonymity.

The lone suicide bomber, who was driving a car, struck the convoy of Turkish diplomat Ismail Aramaz, NATO's most senior civilian representative in Afghanistan, one NATO official said.
Aramaz, who was previously Turkey's ambassador to Afghanistan and took up his current post in January, was not in the car when the attack took place.
The dead Turkish soldier was a member of Aramaz' protection team, the NATO official said on condition of anonymity. One other person was injured.
The bomber was also killed in the explosion, Stanikzai said.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying in a message that "a convoy of the foreign invaders" was their target.
An Afghan bystander told dpa: "A white Toyota Corolla car came in great speed and crashed against the NATO vehicle, a Mercedez Benz with Turkish flag stickers, and then immediately the car exploded."
"I saw two seriously injured being taken away," the man said.
Television footage showed an armoured vehicle that was damaged at the scene.
The incident occurred in a highly secured area, with the Iranian embassy, French embassy, government ministries, and the residence of former Afghan president Hamid Karzai in the vicinity.
Thursday's bombing occurred amid a winter lull in attacks in Kabul. In January a suicide bomber hit a European Union police vehicle, killing a passerby, and in November a British embassy car was attacked, killing two embassy personnel.