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Taliban leader reportedly unhurt in blast

The Taliban said today that their leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, escaped unscathed but many of his guards were injured in an overnight act of sabotage in their spiritual capital, Kandahar.

"The enemies of the emirate carried out this act of sabotage and we can't blame any specific body for it," Abdul Mutmaen, a key Taliban spokesperson, told Reuters by telephone.

Mutmaen said several of Mullah Mohammad Omar's bodyguards were injured when "explosive material" went off in a truck abandoned near his Kandahar residence.

Other reports said the explosion occurred when the Taliban challenged the vehicle and its driver after it arrived in Kandahar from Herat, a town close to the Iran border.

The reports from the independent Afghan Islamic Press News agency said six people were killed and many more were injured. The International Committee of the Red Cross said it knew of two fatalities and 30 injured.

It was thought to be the first such attack in Kandahar since the Taliban came to power three years ago after toppling the government of Burhanuddin Rabbani.

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