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Second suicide blast in 2 days hits Afghans
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Tue, Feb 19, 2008
The Straits Times
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KANDAHAR (AFGHANISTAN) - A DAY after a suicide blast killed more than 100 people, a suicide bomber rammed his car into a Canadian military convoy at a busy market in southern Afghanistan yesterday, killing 37 civilians.
The back-to-back bombings made the two-day period the deadliest for Afghan civilians since the Taleban's ouster in 2001.
At least 30 others were hurt in yesterday's attack in Spin Boldak, a town in Kandahar province near the border with Pakistan, said Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary.
The Nato-led International Security Assistance Force said three of its soldiers were also wounded in the attack.
| Kandahar governor Asaduallah Khalid said several of the wounded were in critical condition and the death toll could rise.
'A white Toyota Corolla car rammed the second vehicle in the (military) convoy as it passed through the bazaar,' said Mr Abdul Hakim, who witnessed the attack from his grocery store. 'Then there was a huge explosion.'
Mr Hakim and several others were rushed to a hospital across the border in Chaman, Pakistan, for treatment.
Dr Mohammed Akhtar, of the Chaman hospital, said that nine Afghan civilians were treated at his facility, and that one later died.
One of the Canadian military vehicles was heavily damaged in the attack, as were several shops and civilian vehicles, said Mr Abdul Razeq, the Spin Boldak border police chief.
More than 100 people were killed on Sunday when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a dog-fighting competition outside Kandahar. The attack was aimed at a local militia leader, who was killed in the blast.
The two bombings could indicate a change in tactics by insurgents. Though militant attacks occasionally have killed dozens of civilians, insurgents have generally sought to avoid targeting ordinary Afghans.
A spokesman for the extremist Taleban movement said his group was responsible for yesterday's blast but denied any involvement in Sunday's blast.
'We do not claim responsibility for it,' its spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi had said earlier, suggesting the motive was infighting among pro-government commanders.
Despite the presence of more than 50,000 foreign soldiers led by Nato and the US military, as well as some 140,000 Afghan troops, Taleban militants have made a comeback in the past two years and more than 11,000 people have been killed in violence.
ASSOCIATED PRESS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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