LONDON — In the second such strike in as many years, a suicide car-bombing outside the Indian Embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul recently left at least 17 dead (none of them embassy staff) and scores of others wounded. India has long been developing its "soft power" strategy in Afghanistan, sticking to civilian rather than military matters, but attacks on its embassy and the loss of Indian lives may force a change in strategy.
The blast was similar in most ways to the one that struck the Indian Embassy on July 7 last year, killing 60 people including a Foreign Service officer and a defense attache at the embassy. Subsequent investigations have determined that that attack was the brainchild of the Pakistan-based Haqqani group, with possible participation by some of that country's intelligence agents.
The same story is being repeated, as the Afghan envoy to the United States pointed to involvement of the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI in the most recent attack. It is the first time a top Afghan official has blamed ISI for a terror strike.