JAKARTA - Five Afghan security guards at the Indonesian embassy were killed and two Indonesian diplomats were wounded in a suicide car bombing which targeted the Indian embassy in Kabul on Monday, officials said.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said his condolences went out to the families of the five guards who were killed in the massive blast -- the biggest in the Afghan capital since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001.
"The car bomb attack wounded two of our diplomats and killed five security personnel," he was quoted as saying by Antara news agency.
Foreign ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah confirmed the casualties and said the Indonesian embassy was also badly damaged.
"Although the Indonesian embassy in Kabul was not the target, the location of the explosion was quite close so the building was damaged quite badly and two Indonesian diplomats were slightly injured," he said.
"The situation is still chaotic there and we're waiting for a report from our embassy."
Afghan officials said more than 40 people, mostly civilians waiting for visas, were killed in the explosion.
nsh-smc/sst
07/07/2008 11:02 GMT