Death Toll in Kabul Bombing Has Hit 150, Afghan President Says

By ROD NORDLAND JUNE 6, 2017

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghan president said that over 150 people were killed and more than 300 were wounded by the truck bombing outside the German Embassy last week, making it possibly the deadliest such attack since the American-led invasion in 2001.

The president, Ashraf Ghani, made the disclosure — increasing the death toll by more than 50 — during a speech at a one-day peace conference his government convened in the capital on Tuesday.

The meeting, called the Kabul Process, drew representatives of 20 countries and international organizations, but it included no one from the Taliban or other insurgent groups. Mr. Ghani’s own foreign minister apparently even boycotted the gathering, as antigovernment demonstrators continued to defy orders to leave camps they had set up in the city.

In what seemed to be a bid to create a safer environment for the event, Mr. Ghani on short notice declared Tuesday a national holiday, with the police blocking all except official traffic from the roads.

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]