Roadside bomb hits Afghan bus, killing 11 and wounding 31
A roadside bomb which hit a bus in restive western Afghanistan on Tuesday killed at least 11 people and wounded 31, mostly women and children, officials said.
“It was a bomb planted by the Taliban to hit security forces but… it got a passenger bus,” Farah provincial police spokesman Muhibullah Muhib told.
There was no immediate confirmation from the Taliban that they were responsible.
The explosion killed at least 11 people and wounded 31, said Naser Mehri, Farah provincial governor’s spokesman.
Abdul Ghani, the director of a health centre near the scene of the blast, confirmed the casualty toll.
Afghanistan’s largest militant group is very active in the west.
It often uses improvised explosive devices against government officials and Afghan and foreign forces.
The bus began its journey in the western city of Herat and was headed for the Afghan capital.
The explosion happened as it travelled through Farah’s Bala Baluk district at 4:30 am, Mehri told.
Around a dozen of the wounded — mostly members of the Hazara ethnic group who tend to follow Shiite Islam in the Sunni-dominated country — were taken to hospital in Herat.
Among them was Mohammad Zahir, 40, who had been travelling with his newly married daughter to visit relatives in Kabul.
“The bus was driving on the main road when I heard a big bang,” Zahir told.
“When I woke up I found myself in the hospital. I still don’t know what’s happened to my daughter.”
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack.
“Harming civilians, especially scholars, children and women, is against the Ulema Council’s (Afghanistan’s top religious leaders) fatwa,” Ghani said in a statement, referring to the group’s proclamation in June that suicide attacks and explosions were “haram” or prohibited in Islam.
Mandozai blamed the Taliban for the kidnapping and said a rescue operation had been launched.
Press journalist for HRO media – Ignacio Damigo reports.
Category: International
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