Rocket Hits Bus Station in Kabul; 23 Reported Killed

A rocket hit a crowded bus station in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Tuesday, killing 23 people and injuring an undetermined number, Radio Kabul reported.

The official radio, monitored in Islamabad, described a grisly scene of blood, fragmented bodies and people crying.

It said five surface-to-surface rockets in all hit Kabul on Tuesday, the eve of the Afghan celebration of the birth of the Muslim prophet Mohammed.

“People, including children, women and old men, were returning home from work or shopping” when the rocket exploded, the radio said.

It said the rocket was fired “most probably” by mercenaries helping Muslim guerrillas fighting to topple the Soviet-backed, Communist Afghan government.

Also on Tuesday, Western diplomatic sources in Islamabad said an estimated 2 million people in Kabul face a winter of scarce food and fuel unless the Communist government changes its priority of supplies.

The diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said most of a massive Soviet airlift to the city consists of weapons instead of food. Western diplomats reported a similar situation in autumn, 1988, followed by a severe food shortage.