Suicide bombers, gunmen kill 32 in attack on Afghan police
KHOST, Afghanistan: The death toll in an ongoing suicide and gun attack on a police training centre in a southeast Afghan city has risen to 32 with more than 200 wounded, a hospital official said yesterday.
“The hospital is overwhelmed and we call on people to donate blood,” said Shir Mohammad Karimi, deputy health director in Gardez, the capital of Paktia province.
A separate attack in a neighbouring province left 15 security forces dead and 12 wounded, as militants step up their offensives following a ratcheting up in US airstrikes in a warweary country marking 16 years of conflict this month.
The victims of the ongoing Gardez attack, which was claimed by the Taliban in a tweet, include women, students and police, officials told AFP.
“At first a suicide bomber detonatedacarfilledwithexplosives near the training centre, making way for a number of attackers to start their assault,” the interior ministry said in a statement.
A battle between the attackers, armed with guns and suicide vests, and security forces is under way inside the centre which is located near the Paktia police headquarters, it said.
A local official said two car bombs went off near the compound that also houses the provincial headquarters of the national police, border police and Afghan National Army.
Photos posted on Twitter purportedly show two large plumes of smoke rising above the city, suggesting two bombs were detonated in the assault. — AFP