*KABUL – Taliban suicide bombers killed at least 48 people and woundeddozens more in two blasts Tuesday — one at a campaign rally for thepresident and the other in Kabul — with the insurgents warning of moreviolence ahead of elections.*
The first attack saw a motorcyclist detonate a suicide bomb at a checkpointleading to a rally where President Ashraf Ghani was addressing supportersin central Parwan province, just north of the capital, killing 26 andwounding 42.
Just over an hour later another blast also claimed by the Taliban rockedcentral Kabul near the US embassy. Authorities initially did not givecasualty figures, but later said 22 people had been killed and a further 38wounded.
The explosions came after US President Donald Trump abruptly ended talkswith the Taliban earlier this month over a deal that would have allowed theUS to begin withdrawing troops from its longest war.
In a statement sent to media claiming responsibility for both blasts,Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the attack near Ghani’s rally wasdeliberately aimed at disrupting the September 28 elections.
“We already warned people not to attend election rallies, if they sufferany losses that is their own responsibility,” the statement said.
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An AFP image from the scene near Ghani’s rally, roughly an hour’s drivenorth of Kabul, showed the remains of a burnt motorcycle, with a body ontop, covered by a blanket and next to a badly damaged police car.
Women and children were among the causalities, Parwan hospital directorAbdul Qasim Sangin told AFP.
The president, who was speaking to his supporters at the time of the blast,was unhurt but later condemned the attack, saying the incident proved theTaliban had no real interest in reconciliation.
“As the Taliban continue their crimes, they once again prove that they arenot interested in peace and stability in Afghanistan,” said Ghani in astatement. -APP/AFP
