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10 Killed, 55 Injured By Bomb Near Kabul

Coverage of Pre-Election Violence Banned

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Civilian military advisor to the U.S. Marines, Roger Parrino talks to Afghan children while on patrol with Golf Company, 2nd Battalion,k 3rd Regiment, 2nd MEB, 3rd MEF, in the village of Dahaneh, Monday, Aug. 17, 2009, in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. After several days of fighting, a break in the action allowed the Marines and civil affairs groups to begin talking to village civilians. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) (Julie Jacobson - AP)

Afghan police survey the scene of a suicide car bomb attack on the outskirts of Kabul on Tuesday Aug. 18, 2009. A suicide car bomber attacked a NATO convoy Tuesday killing at least seven civilians and wounding some 50 people, including several international troops, officials said. A U.N. spokesman said three U.N. staff were also wounded. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (David Guttenfelder - AP)

Injured Afghan men leave the scene of a suicide car bomb attack in on the outskirts of Kabul on Tuesday Aug. 18, 2009. A suicide car bomber attacked a NATO convoy killing at least seven civilians and wounding 50 people, including several international troops, officials said. A U.N. spokesman said three U.N. staff were also wounded. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (David Guttenfelder - AP)

An Afghan man helps another as they leave the scene of a suicide car bomb attack in on the outskirts of Kabul on Tuesday Aug. 18, 2009. A suicide car bomber attacked a NATO convoy killing at least seven civilians and wounding 50 people, including several international troops, officials said. A U.N. spokesman said three U.N. staff were also wounded. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (David Guttenfelder - AP)

An Afghan man rushes through the scene of a suicide car bomb attack on the outskirts of Kabul on Tuesday Aug. 18, 2009. A suicide car bomber attacked a NATO convoy killing at least seven civilians and wounding some 50 people, including several international troops, officials said. A U.N. spokesman said three U.N. staff were also wounded. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (David Guttenfelder - AP)

British ISAF soldiers gather evidence next to destroyed cars at the scene of a suicide car bomb attack on the outskirts of Kabul,Tuesday Aug. 18, 2009. A Taliban suicide bomber attacked a NATO convoy, killing at least seven people and wounding more than 50, officials said, just days before the presidential election that the militant group has vowed to disrupt. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer) (Kevin Frayer - AP)

British ISAF soldiers and Afghan police gather at the scene of a suicide car bomb attack on the outskirts of Kabul,Tuesday Aug. 18, 2009. A Taliban suicide bomber attacked a NATO convoy, killing at least seven people and wounding more than 50, officials said, just days before the presidential election that the militant group has vowed to disrupt. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer) (Kevin Frayer - AP)

French ISAF soldiers guard the scene of a suicide car bomb attack on the outskirts of Kabul,Tuesday Aug. 18, 2009. A Taliban suicide bomber attacked a NATO convoy killing at least seven people and wounding more than 50, officials said, just days before the presidential election that the militant group has vowed to disrupt. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer) (Kevin Frayer - AP)

British troops and Afghan police arrive on the scene of a suicide car bomb attack in on the outskirts of Kabul on Tuesday Aug. 18, 2009. A Taliban suicide bomber attacked a NATO convoy Tuesday on the outskirts of Kabul, killing at least seven people and wounding more than 50, officials said, just days before the presidential election that the militant group has vowed to disrupt. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (David Guttenfelder - AP)

French ISAF soldiers guard the scene of a suicide car bomb attack on the outskirts of Kabul,Tuesday Aug. 18, 2009. A Taliban suicide bomber attacked a NATO convoy Tuesday on the outskirts of Kabul, killing at least seven people and wounding more than 50, officials said, just days before the presidential election that the militant group has vowed to disrupt. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer) (Kevin Frayer - AP)

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By Joshua Partlow

Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, August 19, 2009

KABUL, Aug. 18 -- A suicide bomber blew up a car near a NATO convoy on the dusty outskirts of Kabul on Tuesday, and mortars or rockets struck near the presidential palace, as the Afghanistan government moved to stop the media from reporting on violence during this week's presidential election.

The government issued two decrees calling for a ban on news broadcasts about violence as voters go to the polls on Thursday in an attempt to keep Afghans from being frightened away from voting.

"We have taken this decision in the national interest of Afghanistan in order to encourage people and raise their morale to come out and vote," a spokesman for President Hamid Karzai told Reuters.

Such a decision seems unlikely to have much impact at a time when scores of reporters from local and international media are closely following developments in Afghanistan, including the ongoing violence before the election.

The car bomb Tuesday exploded about 1 p.m. near a convoy by Camp Phoenix, a British military base on a dusty road outside Kabul leading to Jalalabad, killing 10 people and wounding 55 others, officials said.

NATO said that one Western soldier, whose nationality was not released, was killed and two others were injured in the explosion. Seven Afghan civilians were also killed, along with two Afghan employees of the United Nations.

"The people are still ready to go and vote," said Zamaray Bashari, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, who added that 18 vehicles were damaged or destroyed in the explosion.

The separate attack involving rockets or mortars that crashed down near the presidential palace caused no serious damage and neither Karzai nor anyone else was injured in the explosions, deputy presidential spokesman Hamid Elmi told the Associated Press.

The Taliban has warned repeatedly it would carry out attacks to try to disrupt the election process and scare people away from the polls on Thursday. On Saturday, the Taliban took credit for another suicide car bombing outside the entrance to U.S. military and NATO headquarters in Kabul that killed seven people.

Special correspondent Javed Hamdard contributed to this report.

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10 Killed, 55 Injured By Bomb Near Kabul

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