Suicide car bomb in Afghanistan kills 18: Police
A suicide attacker rammed an explosives-laden car into a police vehicle at a bazaar in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, killing at least 18 people.
By Agencies |
KANDAHAR: A suicide attacker rammed an explosives-laden car into a police vehicle at a bazaar in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, killing at least 18 people, a police commander said.
Five of the dead in the attack in Uruzgan province were policemen and the remainder was civilians, provincial police chief Juma Gul Hemat said.
"About 18 to 20 people have died and more than 35 others have been injured. The number is likely to rise," he said.
The police vehicle was destroyed in the attack in the Deh Rawood area, which took place about 400 kilometres (250 miles) southwest of Kabul.
"The bombing was against a police car in the middle of the bazaar," local resident Abdul Habib, told AFP. "There have been lots of people killed and injured."
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing but similar attacks have been carried out by Taliban militants, who have led an insurgency against the Kabul government since being ousted from power in 2001.
The blast came less than a week after a suicide bombing at the Indian embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul, which killed more than 40 people including four Indian nationals, two of them senior diplomats.
The Kabul bombing was the deadliest suicide attack in the capital since the 2001 fall of the Taliban.
There are nearly 70,000 international soldiers in Afghanistan to help the government fight the insurgency but the violence has only escalated, with the insurgents making heavy use of suicide attacks.
The bombings are often aimed at security forces but kill more civilians.
Five of the dead in the attack in Uruzgan province were policemen and the remainder was civilians, provincial police chief Juma Gul Hemat said.
"About 18 to 20 people have died and more than 35 others have been injured. The number is likely to rise," he said.
The police vehicle was destroyed in the attack in the Deh Rawood area, which took place about 400 kilometres (250 miles) southwest of Kabul.
"The bombing was against a police car in the middle of the bazaar," local resident Abdul Habib, told AFP. "There have been lots of people killed and injured."
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing but similar attacks have been carried out by Taliban militants, who have led an insurgency against the Kabul government since being ousted from power in 2001.
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The blast came less than a week after a suicide bombing at the Indian embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul, which killed more than 40 people including four Indian nationals, two of them senior diplomats.
The Kabul bombing was the deadliest suicide attack in the capital since the 2001 fall of the Taliban.
There are nearly 70,000 international soldiers in Afghanistan to help the government fight the insurgency but the violence has only escalated, with the insurgents making heavy use of suicide attacks.
The bombings are often aimed at security forces but kill more civilians.
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