Suicide car bomb kills 30 Afghan security personnel
The Ghazni attack comes just days after two bombs killed 14 people in Bamiyan
A suicide car bomber struck an army base in Afghanistan on Sunday killing at least 30 security personnel, officials said, in one of the deadliest attacks targeting government forces in months.
The attack occurred on the outskirts of Ghazni city, capital of the eastern province of Ghazni, which has seen regular fighting between the Taliban and government forces.
It came as the Afghan government and Taliban are engaged in peace talks, but a top official warned that such attacks have the potential to “harm the peace process” as violence continues to surge across the country.
“Thirty bodies and 24 wounded people have been brought to hospital. All of them are security personnel,” Baz
Mohammad Hemat, director of Ghazni hospital, told AFP.
Interior ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said a suicide bomber had detonated a vehicle full of explosives.
“The bomber drove a Humvee vehicle right inside the base and detonated it,” Ghazni governor spokesman Wahidullah Jumazada told AFP.
The base is located on a vast swath of arid land surrounded by mountains.
Video footage showed military ambulances taking the dead and wounded to hospitals and cranes deployed to remove the debris from the site of the attack in the base.
The ministry of defence gave a toll of 10 security personnel killed and seven wounded. The ministry is known to downplay tolls in attacks against its forces.
No group has so far claimed the attack, and the Taliban who are fighting government forces have often not commented on deadly strikes since the peace talks commenced on September 12.
The Taliban have primarily targeted government forces in rural areas since signing a separate deal with Washington in February that paved the way for the withdrawal of foreign forces by May 2021.
The Pentagon said earlier this month that it would soon pull out about 2,000 troops from Afghanistan, speeding up the timeline of a full withdrawal.
“Such terrorist attacks will create an atmosphere of fear, terror and pessimism among the Afghan people and will harm the peace process,” said Abdullah Abdullah, who is leading the overall peace process in Afghanistan.
“The increase in violence is not acceptable to people... and runs against the peace process, negotiations and reconciliation.”
The Ghazni attack comes just days after two bombs killed 14 people in the historic city of Bamiyan, ending years of calm in the isolated town famous for its ancient Buddhist heritage.
In another suicide car bomb attack on Sunday, one civilian was killed and 20 others wounded in the southern province of abul, police said.
Such terrorist attacks will create an atmosphere of fear, terror and pessimism among the Afghan people and will harm the peace process
Abdullah Abdullah, the head peace process in Afghanistan