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11/14/2003: "Kandahar Chronicles #41 - 11/11/2003"

About an hour ago, a huge explosion rocked our compound and threw a plume of smoke and dust high into the air. The upstairs windows beside the roof door were blasted in and an ominous piece of twisted metal, about twelve inches in diameter, landed in our compound in front of the office. We are about two blocks away. Inside this piece of ragged, charred steel is a triple A battery and some home made wiring. Everyone is pretty shook up but we’re all drinking tea, trying to let the adrenaline settle. Sketchy reports we have gotten so far seem to indicate a car bomb was detonated outside some UN offices. This has not been confirmed and of yet there are no reports of casualties. I rushed to the forecourt and looked toward the area of destruction but couldn’t see much through the smoke. I could however, hear shouting and screaming clearly from my vantage point.

I won’t speculate on who might be responsible for this blast, you will probably learn as much from watching the news as I will hear in the next few hours. At the moment of the blast I was sitting drinking tea with Kathleen talking about her feelings of the general state of security. Everybody moved quickly to the rear of the compound while I ran to join the guards who were already trying to see what had happened. We secured communication equipment and settled down to let the reports come in. I left instructions for a chowkidor to watch the front wall and move along anyone who might try to park a car there. If someone ignores our him, the guard is to get the hell out of there. At this time, there is still the acrid smell of burnt steel hanging in the air.

Okay, phone calls to make, I’ll try to finish this tomorrow.