Bodies of Indian victims flown in

NEW DELHI: The bodies of the four Indians killed in the deadly suicide attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul were flown into the capital late on Monday night in a special Indian Air Force plane.

Defence Attache Brigadier RD Mehta, Political and Information Counsellor V Venkateswara Rao and two ITBP personnel, Ajai Pathania and Roop Singh, were among the 44 killed when a suicide bomber slammed a car packed with explosives into the Indian embassy premises Monday morning.

The funeral of Mehta will be held on Tuesday afternoon. Army Chief Deepak Kapoor and scores of army officers will be there to pay their last respects.
 
Rao's cremation will be held later in the evening at Brar Square in the Delhi cantonment area. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and many diplomats will be present at the funeral of the first Indian diplomat killed abroad in a terror attack.  Rao is survived by his wife Malathi, 14-year-old son Karthik and 11-year-old daughter Amulya.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is in Japan to attend the G-8 summit, has condemned the attack and said he was "horrified" to know of the death of Indians in the attack.

"India is with the families of those bereaved today. We will do all that we can to help them bear their loss and grief. This is our pledge," Singh said.