Taliban claimed suicide bombings in Kandahar, 35 dead
Font size:
ennahar
KANDAHAR (Afghanistan) - Taliban claimed responsibility for a series of suicide attacks that have bloodied Saturday Kandahar, one of their strongholds in southern Afghanistan, killing 35 people and wounding 57 according to a new record, the most deadly since the beginning of the year.
- Eight explosions occurred Saturday in different parts of the city, the third-largest in the country after Kabul and Herat, in one coordinated attacks, the heaviest since the beginning of the Taliban insurgency there over 8 years.
"In total, 35 people were killed, 13 policemen and 22 civilians" and 57 people injured, including 17 policemen, said Zemarai Bashery, spokesman for the Interior Ministry.
The governor of the province, Turyalai Wisai, asked the military to strengthen security around Kandahar to prevent further attacks.
A spokesman for the Taliban, Yousuf Ahmadi, claimed the attacks which began around 8:00 pm (15:30 GMT), with a first powerful suicide car bomb affecting first the main prison in Kandahar and other government buildings.
The attack was to release prisoners, including Taliban fighters, said Bashery. On Sunday, police found explosives and rockets in a house near the prison, for opening the cells.
In June 2008, the Taliban attacked the Sarposa prison in Kandahar and a thousand prisoners, including about 400 Taliban suspects, escaped.
The spokesman for the Taliban said the bombings were involved in response to the recent announcement by General Stanley McChrystal, head of international forces in Afghanistan, a military offensive this summer in Kandahar.
"It was a response to General McChrystal," assured AFP on the phone Ahmadi, regular spokesman of Taliban from an unknown location. "This was intended to sabotage the operation (military) and show that we can strike anywhere, whenever we want," he added.
President Hamid Karzai condemned the attacks, calling the perpetrators "enemies of Islam and Afghanistan".
Among those killed were 10 people, including women and children who were attending a wedding, said the governor.
Another blast occurred early Sunday morning near the office of a Japanese construction company in Kandahar. Five employees were injured, four Pakistanis and an Afghan. - On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, has reviewed the troops in Kandahar province, neighboring Helmand, which will launch an offensive this summer. "Once again, you'll be at the forefront," their "he said.
- Ennaharonline/ M. O.
Add to:
Email to a friend
Print version
Plain textRate this article
Comments (0 posted):
Post your comment