Taliban bomb explodes close to ex-NZ MP

BLACKENED: The remains of a suicide bomb attack outside the compound in Kabul where former Labour MP Chris Carter lives. He was minutes from joining the five-vehicle convoy that was destroyed, and was only 25 metres away when the car bomb exploded.
REUTERS
BLACKENED: The remains of a suicide bomb attack outside the compound in Kabul where former Labour MP Chris Carter lives. He was minutes from joining the five-vehicle convoy that was destroyed, and was only 25 metres away when the car bomb exploded.

Former Labour MP Chris Carter has narrowly escaped death or serious injury after a Taliban suicide bomber attacked a military convoy outside his Afghanistan home.

Mr Carter, who now works for the United Nations Development Programme, was metres from a car bomb blast that killed two civilians outside the Green Village compound in Kabul on Saturday morning (NZ time).

He told The Dominion Post yesterday that he and two Australian friends were preparing to leave the compound where he lives at 5pm on Friday (local time) when an "enormous" explosion erupted before their eyes.

CLOSE SHAVE: Former Labour MP Chris Carter.
EMMA ALLEN/Fairfax NZ
CLOSE SHAVE: Former Labour MP Chris Carter.

He considered it a "close shave" because they would have been riding with the five-vehicle convoy had one of his friends not been running about five minutes late.

"I was very lucky. If the bomb had gone off five minutes later, then we would have been in big trouble. The late Aussie saved the day."

Mr Carter was in the compound car park about 25 metres away when the bomb went off and was still behind a glass wall, he said.

"But I saw it and I felt the force on my face. It still feels like one of my ears is blocked because of the pressure of the bomb hitting the side of my head.

"I've seen the after-effects of bombs before but this was the first time one has gone off in front of me and it was a very scary experience.

"I saw the flames shoot ... about 65 feet (nearly 20m) into the air. It was a huge explosion."

But Mr Carter said his nerves held up well after being hardened by his 20 years as a politician.

"Afghanistan is a dangerous place ... it's a little bit like facing the parliamentary press gallery every day, but with bombs.

"But on a serious note, you feel very sorry for the civilians that have been killed. Unfortunately it's the reality of what we deal with here."

Mr Carter has been based in Kabul for the past two years as an official in charge of strengthening local government.

His job involves travelling across all 34 Afghan provinces, often in an armoured car with a police escort.

The Green Village is also home to a number of CIA staff and American military contractors.

"It's been attacked four times in the last six years, so it's a pretty attractive target," he said.