It is the first major attack on an Indian mission abroad and the deadliest suicide bombing in Kabul since the Taliban were ousted in late 2001. A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack.

Defence attache Brigadier R D Mehta and Counsellor Venkateswara Rao, an IFS officer, were killed when the suicide bomber targeted the embassy during the morning rush hour, said Indian Ambassador Jayant Prasad who escaped unhurt in the bombing. Rao’s body was flung over the roof as the explosion blew off the embassy’s gates and outer structure and damaged buildings inside the compound. The embassy is located near the Afghan Interior Ministry.

The other two Indians killed in the attack were identified as ITBP personnel Ajai Pathania and Roop Singh. The fifth embassy employee to die, Niamutullah, was a local Afghan, officials said, adding three Indians were also injured in the blast. Among the dead were seven Afghan guards deployed at the mission.

In New Delhi, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said a high-level team, headed by Nalin Surie, Secretary (West), was being rushed to Kabul to assess the “emergency” situation there.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai blamed the “enemies” of the strong friendship between Afghanistan and India for the attack but did not name any person or group.

Interior ministry spokesman Abdul H Ashiq said that the Indian embassy was the exact target. The Interior Ministry said it “believes this attack was carried out in co-ordination and consultation with an active intelligence service in the region”, an obvious reference to the Pakistani ISI.

Afghanistan has accused Pakistani agents of being behind a number of attacks in recent weeks and Karzai last month threatened to send troops across the border to attack militants there if Pakistan does not take action.

In Islamabad, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi condemned the bombing. “Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations as this menace negates the very essence of human values,” he said.

Outside the embassy, wounded people lay on the road, wailing for help. An explosive-packed Toyota Corolla, driven by a suicide bomber, rammed the vehicle into the embassy. Some witnesses said that the bomber was trying to target two diplomatic vehicles as they were entering the embassy premises.

The blast seemed to have torn through passers-by close to a nearby market area and people queuing for visas at the embassy. The dead included women and three children, Afghan officials said.

“I saw wounded and dead people everywhere on the road,” said Danish Karokhil, head of the independent Pajhwok news agency, whose offices are close by.

Haji Khial Mohammad, 45, who was in line to apply for an Indian visa, said a “vehicle came and hit the embassy gate. I was shocked and could not hear anything after the attack. But I saw at least 10 men and three women in the queue who were probably killed.”

Mohammad Ajmal, 26 a shopkeeper in the market adjacent to the embassy, said, “After a very loud explosion, I could barely could stand up” after goods from his shelves spilled over him.

The US condemned the attack, calling it a “needless act of violence”. US national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe, who is accompanying President George W Bush at the G8 Summit in Japan, said: “We condemn this needless act of violence, and offer our sincere condolences to those injured and especially to those families who lost loved ones.”

“Extremists continue to show their disregard for all human life and their willingness to kill fellow Muslims. The United States stands with the people of Afghanistan, as well as India, as we face this common enemy,” Johndroe said.

Condemning the attack, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that no political agenda or grievance can justify such “reprehensive means.” In a statement, he urged the Afghan government to bring those responsible to justice.