A British citizen was killed and at least 18 people were wounded in a Taliban car bombing Sunday that targeted a European Union vehicle near the international airport in the Afghan capital, authorities said.
The parked car bomb near Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul struck a vehicle of the EU Police Mission in Afghanistan, officials said.
“We can confirm that a British national was tragically killed in a terrorist attack in Kabul this morning,” a spokesman for the United Kingdom’s Foreign Commonwealth Office said. “We stand ready to provide consular assistance to the family.”
Three other EUPOL members in the car with the victim — whose name has not been released — suffered injuries that were not thought to be life-threatening, the EU mission said in a statement.
Kabul police spokesman Ebadullah Karimi said at least 18 people were wounded in the bombing.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. “The target of the suicide car bomb attack was a convoy of foreign invaders,” Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement.
EUPOL is a civilian operation that’s aimed at helping the development of Afghanistan’s police service.
Militants in Afghanistan frequently target Westerners, although Afghans are often hurt in the attacks, too. Another EUPOL vehicle was hit by a car bomb in January that wounded nearby civilians.
Last week, the Taliban claimed responsibility for a gun attack on a Kabul hotel in which a number of foreigners, including one American, were among the dead.