Injured people writhed in the debris-choked street, shrieking in pain, and a cloud of gray dust filled the air. Ambulances rushed to the scene, but some were caught in the capital's chaotic traffic jams and idled with sirens wailing.
The force of the explosion blew out the embassy's front gates, knocked down its perimeter wall and damaged buildings inside the compound. Nearly a dozen of the dead were thought to be Afghan men who had been waiting in a line outside the diplomatic mission, hoping to obtain Indian visas.
At nearby hospitals, there were wrenching scenes as people searched for loved ones. Jalauddin, 20, who like many Afghans uses only one name, was bleeding from cuts as he begged doctors for information. He and his brother were in the area of the embassy when the explosion hit.
"Now I cannot find him," he said, weeping.
Although suspicion fell on the Taliban, there was no immediate claim of responsibility, and news agencies cited a Taliban spokesman as denying any role. However, the insurgents often disclaim knowledge of attacks that kill and maim large numbers of civilians.
The veiled accusation against Pakistan came from Afghanistan's Interior Ministry, which said the attack had been carried out "in coordination and consultation with some of the active intelligence services in the region."
Karzai suggested that "enemies of peace" wanted to harm ties between India and Afghanistan. But he did not specifically blame any outside party.
Pakistan's support in the 1990s of the Taliban movement was part of a push by its shadowy intelligence agencies to create a counterweight to Indian influence. India in turn lent its support to opposition fighters who eventually coalesced into the American-allied Northern Alliance.
M. Karim Faiez and Laura King write for the Los Angeles Times.
