WASHINGTON, May 31 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump condemned the massive bomb attack in the Afghan capital of Kabul in which at least 80 people were killed, the White House said on Wednesday.
According to a White House statement, Trump condemned the attack and the U.S. Embassy was offering assistance to the Afghan government to hunt down those responsible for the attack in his talks with his Afghan counterpart Ashraf Ghani.
The powerful car bomb exploded on Wednesday in central Kabul, where several diplomatic representative offices, official institutions as well as the Presidential Palace are located, killing at least 80 people and injuring over 350 others.
The attack came at a time when Trump was still mulling over the U.S. troop increase in Afghanistan.
U.S. media cited U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity as saying that nine Afghan guards in the U.S. Embassy in Kabul were killed and 11 U.S. contractors wounded.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer confirmed on Wednesday at a daily briefing that the Trump administration was aware that multiple Americans were injured.
The attack, one of the worst since the drawdown of foreign forces from Afghanistan in 2014, came at a time when the U.S. authorities were issuing stern warnings that security situation in Afghanistan was heading for the worse.
Speaking at a Senate hearing earlier this month, U.S. National Intelligence Director Dan Coats warned that the situation in Afghanistan would most likely deteriorate through 2018 even if the United States and its allies offer more military aid.
Coats' warning and Wednesday's deadly attack also came as Trump was still considering whether or not to send additional hundreds of U.S. troops to Afghanistan.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama had planned to reduce the current number of 9,800 U.S. troops in Afghanistan to some 5,500 by the end of 2015 and withdraw all troops by the end of 2016 when his presidency came to an end.
However, given the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, the former Obama administration repeatedly postponed the withdrawal.
Currently, about 8,400 U.S. troops and another 5,000 forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) were deployed on the ground in Afghanistan to train and assist the Afghan forces against the Taliban, and conduct counter-terrorism missions.
