Blast Rocks Kabul Near U.S. Embassy

A rocket attack targeting the U.S. Embassy compound Wednesday unleashed a massive explosion in downtown Kabul, police officials said. At least one Afghan security contractor was wounded.

The blast occurred at about 11 p.m. inside the grounds housing the state-run television offices, a police official told an Associated Press reporter at the scene. The building is next to the heavily fortified U.S. Embassy and the base for NATO-led forces in the capital.

It was unclear who was behind the attack, but suspicion fell on remnants of Afghanistan's toppled Taliban regime, which have vowed to step up attacks against U.S.-led coalition troops and Afghan forces.

A State Department official in Washington has categorized the blast as coming from a 107 mm rocket, which landed 50 meters away from the back entrance to the U.S. Embassy, CBS News has learned.

All Embassy personnel are reportedly safe, but one Afghan citizen is injured, according to CBS News state department reporter Charlie Wolfson.

The rocket strike was believed to be the closest to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul since an American-led coalition toppled the hard-line Taliban government following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was unauthorized to speak to the media, said the explosion was caused by a rocket targeting the U.S. Embassy fired from southeastern Kabul.

Scores of Afghan soldiers and police prevented journalists from nearing the scene, as coalition helicopter gunships patrolled low overhead.

U.S. Embassy spokesman Lou Fintor said no American diplomatic staff members were hurt.

"The location of the explosion was not on U.S. Embassy property and all embassy personnel are safe and accounted for," Fintor told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

U.S. military spokesman Lt. Mike Cody said one Afghan security contractor was wounded in the explosion, but he was unsure what caused the blast.

In Washington, a U.S. counterterrorism official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because it is still early in the investigation, said that the southwest side of the U.S. Embassy's compound was among the buildings struck in the rocket attack.

The official was not immediately aware of causalities or the magnitude of the attack. It was also too early to say who was responsible.

"The enemies of the people and security of Afghanistan were behind this attack," said Mohammed Farouk Asas, police chief of the area where the attack took place. He did not elaborate.

The attack happened hours after a vehicle exploded near a U.S. convoy in eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, killing its driver, U.S. military spokeswoman Lt. Tamara Lawrence said. No U.S. soldiers were wounded but one vehicle was damaged.

Another militant blew himself up while making a bomb in his home in Baghlan province, about 95 miles north of Kabul, said provincial Gov. Mohammed Halim Raskh.

It was unclear with whom the militants were affiliated, but remnants of this country's toppled hard-line Taliban regime have claimed responsibility for a spate of violence in recent months targeting coalition and Afghan forces.

Separately, a roadside bomb exploded near a Canadian military vehicle in Sangin district of Helmand province, wounding two Canadian soldiers, said Canadian spokesman Lt. Mark MacIntyre. They were in stable condition.

Rising violence is a growing concern to nations contributing troops under the mandate of NATO, which is increasing its current force of 10,000 troops in Afghanistan to about 21,000 by November, as it gradually assumes command of all international forces.

Some 6,000 mainly British, Canadian and Dutch troops have started moving into the rebellious southern provinces.