The White House led international condemnation Monday of the suicide car-bomb attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul which left 41 dead, the most lethal attack in the Afghan capital since the 2001 fall of the Taliban.
As G8 leaders meeting in Japan absorbed the news of the blast, which came amid an increasingly bloody battle with insurgents, the White House called it a "needless act of violence."
"Extremists continue to show their disregard for all human life and their willingness to kill fellow Muslims," US National Security Spokesman Gordon Johndroe said at the northern mountain summit venue of Tokaya.
"The United States stands with the people of Afghanistan, as well as India, as we face this common enemy."
That condemnation was echoed in Brussels by NATO, where Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer called on all parties "to remain calm in the face of this provocation," in a statement from NATO heaquarters.
"On behalf of NATO, I wholeheartedly condemn the bombing at the Indian embassy. The loss of life and injuries to so many is a tragedy, and a clear attempt to undermine regional relations," he said.
NATO leads more than 50,000 troops in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) which aims to spread the rule of the weak central government throughout Afghanistan.
Afghanistan's President, Hamid Karzai, immediately called Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to offer his personal condolences over the attack, which injured at least 140.
Karzai said "enemies" of the strong friendship between Afghanistan and India were behind the embassy attack.
India has been one of the strongest allies of post-Taliban Afghanistan, providing essential resources for reconstruction including for roads, electricity and other infrastructure.
"The president strongly condemned the terrorist attack against the Indian embassy in Kabul and considers it the work of enemies of Afghanistan-India friendship," a statement from his office said.
The Indian government called an emergency meeting of defence, foreign and home ministry officials to discuss the security situation.
Speaking in Japan, where was also attending the G8 summit, the Indian PM said he was "horrified" by the "dastardly attack on our embassy."
"Those responsible, directly or indirectly, for this terrorist attack and making this possible are no better than the worst criminals," he said.
"Such acts of terror will not deter us from fulfilling our commitments to the government and people of Afghanistan," a government statement in New Delhi promised.
India's longtime foe, Pakistan, joined in the chorus of condemnation for the attack.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi expressed his "profound condolences to the bereaved families," in a statement, adding: "Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations as this menace negates the very essence of human values."
India's neighbour, Bangladesh, expressed its condolences after what it called "an inhumane and abominable attack."
The European Union's External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said: "Terrorist attacks will never be a means to achieve anything."
"I hope that the people behind this suicide attack will be found and brought to justice by the Afghan authorities."
Germany, the third biggest contributor of NATO forces in Afghanistan, but whose presence there has provoked domestic disquiet, condemned the attack "in the strongest terms."
"It is the aim of terrorists to prevent the establishment of orderly and democratic conditions in Afghanistan," Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a statement.
The foreign ministers of Sweden and Norway, which also have troops in Afghanistan, joined in condemning the blast.
