Saturday, September 9 2006 11:01 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New York: Shaken by the latest suicide bombing in Kabul which left 16 people dead, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has admitted that the 'enemy is not eliminated' and expected more such attacks to test the West's will to secure the war-ravaged country.

"The enemy is defeated, but it is not eliminated. The elimination part is what we should continue to work on. And that needs patience. That needs perseverance and that needs hard work," he told 'Time' magazine shortly after the blast which killed 16 people, including two US soldiers, yesterday.

The ferocity of the suicide car bomb attack was such that it rocked the floor of the Presidential Palace a mile away, where Karzai was sitting down for an interview with the magazine.

"Karzai, 'struggling to maintain his composure' minutes after the blast, condemned the attack and lamented the loss of life but 'adamantly' rejected any suggestion that security situation in the country was deteriorating," Time said.

He said he expected more such attacks to test the West's will to secure his country, according to the magazine.

"Look, we have enemies," Karzai said.

"The same enemies that blew up themselves in London, the same enemies that blew up the train in Madrid or the train in Bombay or the twin towers in America are still around. Before September 11 they were the government in Afghanistan. Today they are on the run and hiding and they come out from their hiding and try to hurt us when they can manage it," he said.