[ad_1]
KABUL – A suicide bomber on Tuesday targeted a rally of Afghan protesters, killing more than 30 civilians in the eastern province of Nangahar, officials said in the latest wave of violence in Afghanistan.
The strike has raised new questions about the government's ability and the effectiveness of US-led troops in Afghanistan in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks by the al-Qaeda terrorist network. based in the country.
Nearly 130 other civilians were injured in Tuesday's attack near a road outside Jalalabad, the capital of Nangahar province, near the border with Pakistan.
The head of the province of public health, Najibullah Kamawal, said that 32 dead and 128 wounded had been transported to various hospitals in Nangahar.
In addition, some people at the scene immediately recovered the bodies of their loved ones, he said, "so deaths could increase."
Ahmad Ali Hazrat, head of Nangahar Provincial Council, also said the death toll may rise, with some of the injured in critical condition.
Hazrat said the protesters went to their rally even after the attack. Authorities said several hundred people had gathered to complain about a local police commander by blocking the main road between Jalalabad and the Torkham terminal on the border with Pakistan.
"We are fed up with insecurity," he said. "The attacks happen every day. And the government is not paying attention.
The attack took place hours after several small explosions occurred near schools in various parts of Jalalabad, a town that has been the target of deadly strikes in recent months by its affiliates. A 14-year-old student was killed and at least four others were wounded in the first attack, officials said.
The Taliban, the main group of Afghan insurgents fighting the government and foreign troops, have distanced themselves from the explosions.
No other group immediately claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attacks.
[Chaos grips Kabul as gunmen take to streets on Massoud anniversary]
In a statement, President Ashraf Ghani condemned Tuesday's suicide bombing.
"The enemies of Afghanistan, through such savagery, can not weaken the will of our people for a bright future and a stable country," he said.
On Sunday, ISIS said one of its suicide bombers attacked a convoy of armed men who took to the streets in Kabul for hours to commemorate the anniversary of the death of the legendary anti-Taliban commander, Ahmed. Shah Massoud. Armed men fired indiscriminately, mainly in the air, disrupting the lives of tens of thousands of people in their tribute to Massoud. Seven people from the convoy were killed and more than 20 were wounded in the attack on the Islamic State, officials said. Massoud was murdered by al-Qaeda members posing as journalists on September 9, 2001 in a stronghold of resistance in northern Afghanistan.
ISIS also claimed to have been behind two separate but apparently coordinated attacks, in which more than 20 people, including two Afghan journalists, were killed last week in a predominantly Shiite part of the capital.
[The tragic death of an Afghan journalist with a different kind of courage]
Attacks by Islamic State sympathizers have raised concern over the already poor security as Taliban reborn in parts of northern Afghanistan. The group had no influence in these areas, even when he was in power from 1996 to 2001, when he was forced out of power in Kabul by Afghan resistance forces and US air strikes.
According to local officials, more than 150 government security personnel have died in a series of attacks by Taliban militants in various parts of the north.
Taliban advances and renewed attacks by supporters of the Islamic State have also sparked more skepticism about the government's ability to hold long-delayed parliamentary elections scheduled for next month, followed by a presidential vote in April.
In general, the violence has attracted relatively little attention in the West, in part because it hardly affects US or NATO troops in Afghanistan.
But Afghans regularly ask why the United States, 17 years after its intervention in the country, failed to secure Afghanistan.
Sharif Hassan contributed to this report.
Read more:
Five key lessons from the deadly resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan
US military command changes hands in Afghanistan
The current coverage of postal correspondents around the world
Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay informed about foreign news
[ad_2]Source link
