KABUL: A car bomb killed at least 26 people at a gathering of Taliban andAfghan armed forces in the eastern city of Nangarhar on Saturday, anofficial said, as soldiers and militants elsewhere in the countrycelebrated an unprecedented ceasefire.
Dozens of unarmed Taliban militants had earlier entered the Afghan capitaland other cities to celebrate, coinciding with the end of the Ramadanfasting season, as soldiers and militants exchanged hugs and took selfieson their smartphones.link#_>
But in some provinces the insurgents were carrying rocket launchers,grenades and other ammunition.
Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor of Nangarhar,confirmed a car bomb was responsible for the attack in the town of GhaziAminullah Khan, on the main Torkham-Jalalabad road. He had earlier said arocket-propelled grenade was to blame.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
The Taliban announced a surprise three-day ceasefire over the Eid holiday,which began on Friday, except against foreign forces. It overlaps with anAfghan government ceasefire which lasts until Wednesday.
Taliban wearing traditional headgear entered Kabul through gates in thesouth and southeast. Traffic jams formed where people stopped to takepictures of the fighters with their flags. The Taliban urged people to comeforward and take selfies.
“They are unarmed, as they handed over their weapons at the entrances,”Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanekzai told Reuters. Their weapons wouldbe returned when they leave, he said.
Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak met Taliban fighters in Kabul, Tolonews said, an almost unthinkable prospect just two weeks ago.
Video and pictures on news websites showed cheerful soldiers and Talibanhugging one another and exchanging Eid greetings in Logar province, southof Kabul, and Zabul in the south and central Maidan Wardak. Some peoplewere dancing and clapping as onlookers took photos.