A British security contractor who was killed in a suicide bomb attack in Kabul on Sunday has been named by the Foreign Office as Michael Hampshire.
Hampshire, from Huddersfield, was among three victims when a suicide bomber drove a car laden with explosives into a vehicle belonging to the European Union police mission (Eupol) outside the Afghan capital’s airport. Two teenage Afghan girls were also killed in the attack, with at least 18 wounded.
Hampshire’s family have paid tribute to a “loving fiance, son, grandson, brother, uncle, cousin and a friend to everyone who knew him”.
In a statement released by the Foreign Office, they added: “No words can explain what we are going through at this time and we will miss Michael dearly.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank people for the messages we have received but would now like, as a family, to grieve for Michael in peace.”
The attack took place around 9am on Sunday, when the bomber drove a white Toyota Corolla into the European police convoy near the main airport entrance. It was on its way to a Nato military installation nearby, a police spokesman, Ebadullah Karimi, told news agencies. The blast from the explosion could be heard several miles away, from where a white plume of smoke could also be seen.
In a statement on Twitter, a Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack. The insurgents have ramped up violence as part of their annual spring offensive, which they have claimed will target foreign invaders and their “agents”.
However, all the Afghan casualties in Sunday’s attacks were civilians, authorities said.
This follows an attack last Wednesday when gunmen killed five Afghans and nine foreigners at a guesthouse in the capital, including several aid workers. One of the victims was an Afghan-British national.
