KABUL – A suicide attacker blew himself up near an Afghan security forcesvehicle on Tuesday, killing at least 10 people, mostly civilians, officialssaid, in the latest deadly violence to rock the country.
The explosion in the eastern city of Jalalabad also left at least fourpeople wounded and set a nearby petrol station alight, the provincialgovernor’s spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP.
Eight civilians were among the dead, Khogyani added.
Some of the victims were brought to hospital with severe burns, healthdirector Najibullah Kamawal said, confirming the casualty toll.
“I saw a big ball of fire that threw people away. The people were burning,”Esmatullah, who witnessed the incident, told AFP.
Tolo News posted a video online purportedly showing several burned-outvehicles and gutted shops at the scene of the attack.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest assault inrestive Nangarhar province, which borders Pakistan.
The Islamic State group has claimed a series of high-casualty suicide bombattacks in the province in recent weeks, as US and Afghan forces continueoffensive operations against the group.
While the Taliban is Afghanistan’s largest militant group, IS has arelatively small but potent presence mainly in the east and north of thecountry.
– Violence to continue –
Tuesday’s attack comes a day after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeoexpressed “hope” for peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban,during an unannounced visit to Kabul.
Pompeo’s first trip to Afghanistan since he was sworn in as America’s topdiplomat in April came amid renewed optimism for peace in the war-wearycountry, following last month’s unprecedented ceasefire by the Taliban andKabul during Eid.
The Islamic holiday was marked by spontaneous street celebrations involvingAfghan security forces and Taliban militants, raising hopes peace waspossible after 17 years of war.
“An element of the progress is the capacity that we now have to believethat there is now hope,” Pompeo told a joint press conference with AfghanPresident Ashraf Ghani.
“Many of the Taliban now see that they can’t win on the ground militarily.That’s very deeply connected to President Trump’s strategy,” he said,referring to Trump’s much-vaunted South Asia policy announced last August.
The ceasefire did not extend to the IS franchise in Afghanistan, whichfirst emerged in the country in 2014 and established a stronghold inNangarhar before spreading north.
The most recent major attack in Jalalabad on July 1 saw 19 people killedand 21 wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd of AfghanSikhs and Hindus.
The group had been waiting to meet Ghani, who was visiting the city, whenthe bomber struck.
That came after two separate suicide attacks in Nangarhar during theceasefire that were also claimed by IS.
Violence is expected to continue ahead of Afghanistan’s long-delayedlegislative elections on October 20 that militants have vowed to disrupt.
Afghan security forces, already struggling to beat back the Taliban and ISon the battlefield, will be responsible for protecting polling stations,many of which will be located in schools. – APP/AFP