Kabul Truck Bomb Kills Six During Celebration of Coup
A truck bomb exploded in crowded downtown Kabul today, killing six people and wounding 49 on the final day of celebrations marking the 1978 coup that brought the ruling party to power.
Brig. Gen. Saifullah, in charge of police in the Kabul area, said the truck had Pakistani license plates and he blamed U.S.-backed Muslim rebels fighting to topple the Soviet-installed government for the blast.
Radio Moscow placed blame for the blast on “opponents of the people’s government” who want to frustrate the Afghan peace pact signed recently in Geneva and opposed by the Afghan guerrillas.
No group claimed responsibility for the explosion, which echoed across the basin in which Kabul sits when it occurred about 12:30 p.m. near the Pamir movie theater as crowds thronged nearby markets. A gray pall of smoke covered the area.
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