The head of Afghanistan’s intelligence service has been wounded in a suspected suicide bombing in Kabul, interior ministry officials said. They said that Asadullah Khalid was injured in the lower part of his body when the bomb exploded. The explosion took place in the Taymeni area of central Kabul. The Taliban said it carried out the attack. An intelligence official said that the attack took place in one of many guesthouses owned by Mr Khalid. Another intelligence official told the BBC that Mr Khalid was “safe” but did not elaborate on his condition. However, a Western diplomat told the AFP news agency that he had been seriously wounded. Afghan officials also told AFP that he was now in hospital receiving blood transfusions. The attack is similar to a suicide bombing in September 2011 that killed the chairman of the Afghan High Peace Council, Burhanuddin Rabbani, officials say. Mr Rabbani was killed at his home by a suicide attacker carrying a bomb believed to have been concealed in his turban. He was meeting members of the Taliban at the time.
