Rioters in the Afghan capital have set fire to two US embassy vehicles shouting "death to America" after one of the SUVs collided with a civilian car killing a number of passengers, officials and witnesses have said.
An SUV burns after angry crowd set it on fire in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, July 30, 2010. Two SUVs were set on fire by angry Afghans after one of the cars was involved in a traffic accident that killed four people, police said. SUVs are often associated with foreigners, but it remained unclear who caused the accident because the occupants fled the scene. (Photos: AP and Getty Images)Police fired into the air to disperse the crowd of angry Afghans who threw stones and chanted "death to Karzai" in reference to Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president.
Al Jazeera's correspondent in Afghanistan James Bays said the exact details of the incident are still unclear, but security officials are concerned.
"Some in the crowds said people got out of a [passenger] vehicle and embassy guards started firing," our correspondent said on Friday.
Nato's International security assistance force (Isaf) said it had dispatched a quick reaction force to the area outside the American embassy and near Afghan and US army bases in the centre of Kabul.
Saleh Ahmed, a local resident in Kabul, said the accident happend when the civilian vehicle attempted to drive onto the main road from a side street and was hit by one of the two SUVs.
"The civilian vehicle was trying to get into the main road when the two foreign vehicles hit it and killed all four occupants," Ahmed said.
"People gathered around the crash site to see what happened, got angry and started attacking the foreigners."
Security concerns
Security forces were concerned that the deadly traffic accident could lead to widespread rioting, our correspondent said.
A similar accident in May 2006 led to massive riots in Kabul that left at least 14 people dead.
The area "seems to have calmed down for now, but authorities are very concerned", our correspondent said.
Outside of the capital, three US soldiers were killed in two seperate blasts in Afghanistan, bringing this month's death toll to at least 63, making July the deadliest month for American forces in nearly nine years of war.
The three service members died in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, Nato said in a statement on Friday.
The statement did not provide the nationalities of the dead, but US officials speaking on the condition of anonymity said all three were Americans.
June had previously been the deadliest month for US troops as well as the overall Nato led force.
A total of 104 international troops died in June, including 60 Americans, according to a tally compiled by Associated Press.