Taliban suicide bomb hits NATO convoy, kills 18

BY AMIR SHAH, Associated Press Writer Amir Shah, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 20 mins ago

KABUL, Afghanistan – A Taliban suicide car bomber struck a NATO convoy in the Afghan capital Tuesday, killing six troops — five Americans and one Canadian, officials said. Twelve Afghan civilians also died — many of them on a public bus in rush-hour traffic.

The powerful blast occurred on a major Kabul thoroughfare that runs by the ruins of a one-time royal palace and government ministries. It wrecked nearly 20 vehicles, including five SUVs in the NATO convoy, and scattered debris and body parts across the wide boulevard. The body of woman in a burqa was smashed against the window of the bus.

The attack — the deadliest for NATO troops in the capital since September — comes despite a ramped up effort by Afghan authorities to intercept would-be attackers and better secure a capital city that saw a spate of brazen attacks this winter.

In the last such attack in February, suicide bombers stormed two small downtown hotels and killed 16 people.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told The Associated Press in a phone call from an undisclosed location that the bomber was a man from Kabul and his car was packed with 1,650 pounds (750 kilograms) of explosives. The target of the attack was the foreign convoy, he said.

U.S. troops and Afghan police held a security cordon around wrecked vehicles at the blast site in the west of the city. Emergency workers zipped the dead into body bags and lifted the injured into ambulances.

"I saw one person laying on the ground with no head," said Mirza Mohammad, who was on his way to work when the blast happened up the road.

Police officer Wahidullah, who goes by one name, said he saw the body of woman in a burqa smashed up against the window of the bus.

"Everywhere was dead bodies," Wahidullah said. At least 12 Afghan civilians died and 47 were wounded — most of them in the bus, the Interior Ministry said.

U.S. forces spokesman Col. Wayne Shanks said five American service members were killed in the attack, and the Canadian government said one of its service members also died.

It was the deadliest attack for NATO in the capital since a September suicide bombing that killed six Italian soldiers. The attack comes as NATO readies a major offensive in the southern province of Kandahar, a major Taliban stronghold. In a reminder of the ongoing violence in that region, another NATO service member died Tuesday in a bomb attack in the south, according to a statement issued by the coalition.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen condemned the Kabul attack and said it would not deter NATO's efforts in Afghanistan.

"NATO remains committed to its mission to protect the Afghan people and to strengthen Afghanistan's ability to resist terrorism," Rasmussen said in Brussels.

President Hamid Karzai also condemned the attack.

"There were casualties among the NATO forces as well as among civilians — women, children and schoolchildren," Karzai told a news conference.

NATO said that five of its vehicles were damaged as well as more than a dozen civilian vehicles. There were no obvious military vehicles among the wreckage, but NATO troops often travel in unmarked SUVs in the capital.

The Feb. 26 attack against two residential hotels in the capital killed six Indians, along with 10 Afghans. Afghan authorities blamed the attack on Lashkar-e-Taiba, the same Pakistan-based Islamist militia that India blames for the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks that killed 166 people.

Breaking News : At least 12 killed in Afghan suicide bombing

At least 12 killed in Afghan suicide bombing

KABUL, Afghanistan – A suicide car bomb blast ripped through a NATO convoy and public bus in the heavily fortified Afghan capital early Tuesday, killing at least 12 people including five foreigners, officials said.

A NATO spokesman said there were casualties among NATO forces but declined to give specifics about dead or injuried. Lt. Commander Iain Baxter with the British Royal Navy said the alliance could not confirm if the convoy was the target of the attack or was caught up in a blast aimed at something else.

The area around the blast site also is home to Afghan government buildings, including the Ministry of Energy and Water.

At least 47 people were wounded in the attack, the Interior Ministry said. No group immediately claimed responsibility.

It was the first major attack in Kabul since February when suicide bombers struck two small hotels in the city center. That attack killed 16 people and led Afghan police to pledge that they would tighten security and surveillance.

Police have publicized a number of arrests of would-be bombers since then, but Tuesday's bombing was a reminder that the city's defenses can still be penetrated by determined attackers.

Initial reports of the explosion in western Kabul indicated that U.S. vehicles were targeted, said Abdul Ghafor Sayedzada, the chief of the city police's criminal investigation unit.

The Interior Ministry said the 12 killed and 47 wounded that it had counted were all civilians, most of them from a public bus that was hit in the explosion. The ministry did not give details on nationalities, but Kabul Deputy Police Chief Mohammad Khalil Dastyar said five of the dead and five of the wounded were foreigners. He did not provide nationalities.

Seventeen vehicles were damaged in the blast, Dastyar told reporters.

President Hamid Karzai said at a news conference that the bomber was targeting NATO forces.

"Today in the morning we had a tragic incident, which was a suicide attack. The bomber attacked on the NATO forces. There were casualties among the NATO forces as well as among civilians — women, children and schoolchildren," Karzai said as he condemned the attack.

An Associated Press reporter on the scene saw the wreckage of a public bus and four sport utility vehicles. The SUVs were painted beige and grey but no markings identifying them as American were immediately discernable. At least one of the vehicles had a large antenna mounted on it of the type commonly used by foreign governments or international contractors in Afghanistan. NATO forces also sometimes use this type of unmarked SUV in the city.

The U.S. Embassy also declined to comment on whether any of their vehicles were involved in the attack.

The Feb. 26 attack against two residential hotels killed six Indians, along with 10 Afghans. Afghan authorities blamed the attack on Lashkar-e-Taiba, the same Pakistan-based Islamist militia that India blames for the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks that killed 166 people.

Study suggests processed meat a real health risk

By Julie Steenhuysen Julie Steenhuysen

Mon May 17, 6:23 pm ET

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Eating bacon, sausage, hot dogs and other processed meats can raise the risk of heart disease and diabetes, U.S. researchers said on Monday in a study that identifies the real bad boys of the meat counter.

Eating unprocessed beef, pork or lamb appeared not to raise risks of heart attacks and diabetes, they said, suggesting that salt and chemical preservatives may be the real cause of these two health problems associated with eating meat.

The study, an analysis of other research called a meta-analysis, did not look at high blood pressure or cancer, which are also linked with high meat consumption.

"To lower risk of heart attacks and diabetes, people should consider which types of meats they are eating," said Renata Micha of the Harvard School of Public Health, whose study appears in the journal Circulation.

"Processed meats such as bacon, salami, sausages, hot dogs and processed deli meats may be the most important to avoid," Micha said in a statement.

Based on her findings, she said people who eat one serving per week or less of processed meats have less of a risk.

The American Meat Institute objected to the findings, saying it was only one study and that it stands in contrast to other studies and the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

"At best, this hypothesis merits further study. It is certainly no reason for dietary changes," James Hodges, president of the American Meat Institute, said in a statement.

Most dietary guidelines recommend eating less meat. Individual studies looking at relationships between eating meat and cardiovascular diseases and diabetes have had mixed results.

But studies rarely look for differences in risk between processed and unprocessed red meats, Micha said.

She and colleagues did a systematic review of nearly 1,600 studies from around the world looking for evidence of a link between eating processed and unprocessed red meat and the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

They defined processed meat as any meat preserved by smoking, curing or salting, or with the addition of chemical preservatives. Meats in this category included bacon, salami, sausages, hot dogs or processed deli or luncheon meats.

Unprocessed red meat included beef, lamb or pork but not poultry.

They found that on average, each 1.8 oz (50 grams) daily serving of processed meat a day -- one to two slices of deli meats or one hot dog -- was associated with a 42 percent higher risk of heart disease and a 19 percent higher risk of developing diabetes.

They found no higher heart or diabetes risk in people who ate only unprocessed red meats.

The team adjusted for a number of factors, including how much meat people ate. They said lifestyle factors were similar between those who ate processed and unprocessed meats.

"When we looked at average nutrients in unprocessed red and processed meats eaten in the United States, we found that they contained similar average amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol," Micha said.

"In contrast, processed meats contained, on average, four times more sodium and 50 percent more nitrate preservatives," Micha added.

Last month, the Institute of Medicine urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to regulate the amount of salt added to foods to help Americans cut their high sodium intake.

The FDA has not yet said whether it will regulate salt in foods, but it is looking at the issue.

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