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A suicide bombing in a city in eastern Afghanistan where President Ashraf Ghani was killed left at least 19 people dead, including the only Sikh candidate in the upcoming parliamentary elections, announced Sunday. l & # 39; official. "Of the 19 killed, 17 were Sikhs and Hindus," AFP provincial health director Najibullah Kamawal told AFP. Another twenty people were injured during the attack.
Avtar Singh, the only Sikh candidate to run in the October 20 legislative and municipal elections, was among the dead, said a senior Indian embassy official. In a statement, the embassy condemned the attack "cowardly terrorist".
The attack was claimed by the Islamic State group.
There were scenes of anxiety at the hospital where parents were crying and hugging each other. "It's over for us, we finished, they slaughtered us, at least 10 of us," said a man in AFP, too upset to give his name.
Small communities of Sikhs and Hindus reside in what is otherwise a predominantly Muslim nation. Najib Danish, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, confirmed that a suicide bombing had been perpetrated – the latest in a series of recent deadly assaults in the restive province.
Ghani's spokesman said the president was still in Nangarhar but was "far from danger".
Ghani arrived in Jalalabad on Sunday to open a hospital, as part of a two-day visit to the neighboring province of Pakistan.
The attack comes a day after Ghani ordered the Afghan security forces to resume offensive operations against the Taliban after the 18-day government ceasefire.
The unilateral truce of the government straddled the three-day ceasefire but activists refused to extend it.
The unprecedented cease-fire on the Ramadan summit triggered spontaneous street celebrations involving Taliban fighters, security forces and war-weary civilians.
But he was tainted by two suicide bombings in Nangarhar that left dozens dead and were claimed by the IS, which has a smaller but relatively powerful presence in Afghanistan
IS was not doing part of the ceasefire. The attack comes as US envoy Alice Wells travels to Kabul as part of efforts to intensify pressure on the Taliban to engage in peace talks.
The Taliban have so far ignored the offer of Ghani peace negotiations. Instead, they insisted on direct talks with the United States, which Washington has repeatedly denied.
Wells said that the Afghan government and the United States wanted to start speaking without preconditions.
"At this moment, it is the Taliban leaders … who do not reside in Afghanistan, who are the obstacle to a negotiated political settlement," Wells said in embargoed remarks until Sunday.
Wells, who owes "Pakistan has an important role to play … but we have not yet seen this sustained and decisive action," said Islamabad, adding that "Pakistan has an important role in to play". Of the 19 killed in the attack in Jalalabad, 17 were Sikhs and Hindus
Map of Afghanistan locating the attack in Jalalabad
There were scenes of the same. Anxiety at the hospital where mourning parents were crying and hugging while they waited for news of their loved ones
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