Bodies of Indian victims of Afghan blast flown home
The bodies of 4 Indian nationals killed in a bomb attack on New Delhi's embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul were flown home.
By Agencies |
NEW DELHI: The bodies of four Indian nationals killed in a bomb attack on New Delhi's embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul were flown home early Tuesday, foreign and defence ministry officials said.
Military attache Brigadier RD Mehta, political counselor VV Rao and two paramilitary commandos were among the 41 people killed when a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into the embassy on Monday.
The bodies were brought back in a special military aircraft despatched by New Delhi hours after the attack.
Rao's body was flung over the roof by the impact of the explosion, which blew off the embassy's gates and damaged buildings inside the compound.
"When we recieved news in Delhi yesterday (Monday) that Rao was missing, we were hoping against hope that he was safe," said a shocked colleague.
"There was a frantic search and after hours a body was found on the roof of the embassy building. It also took a while to identify the body, it was in a bad shape."
Mehta, a military intelligence officer, had started his tenure as attache in February this year, a defence ministry official said.
"He was helping train the Afghan army. That is probably why he was a prized target," said the official, who declined to be identified.
Indian newspapers, which put reports of the attack on their front pages, paid glowing tributes to the four, whose last rites will be carried out Tuesday.
India is one of Afghanistan's staunchest allies as the war-torn country battles an increasingly bloody Taliban insurgency, and the international community has sent in about 70,000 troops to aid the Afghan government.
Military attache Brigadier RD Mehta, political counselor VV Rao and two paramilitary commandos were among the 41 people killed when a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into the embassy on Monday.
The bodies were brought back in a special military aircraft despatched by New Delhi hours after the attack.
Rao's body was flung over the roof by the impact of the explosion, which blew off the embassy's gates and damaged buildings inside the compound.
"When we recieved news in Delhi yesterday (Monday) that Rao was missing, we were hoping against hope that he was safe," said a shocked colleague.
"There was a frantic search and after hours a body was found on the roof of the embassy building. It also took a while to identify the body, it was in a bad shape."
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Mehta, a military intelligence officer, had started his tenure as attache in February this year, a defence ministry official said.
"He was helping train the Afghan army. That is probably why he was a prized target," said the official, who declined to be identified.
Indian newspapers, which put reports of the attack on their front pages, paid glowing tributes to the four, whose last rites will be carried out Tuesday.
India is one of Afghanistan's staunchest allies as the war-torn country battles an increasingly bloody Taliban insurgency, and the international community has sent in about 70,000 troops to aid the Afghan government.
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