Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Blasts across Afghanistan kill 50, injure 90, authorities say
KABUL, Afghanistan — Two large bombs, one triggered by a suicide attacker, exploded near government offices Tuesday, killing at least 38 people and injuring 72 in the deadliest Taliban violence in Kabul in months.
In southern Afghanistan, another attack at a guesthouse belonging to the governor of Kandahar province killed five people and wounded 12. An ambassador from the United Arab Emirates and other UAE diplomats were among the wounded, authorities said.
A third Taliban attack killed seven people and injured six in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital of Helmand province, also in southern Afghanistan.
In all, 50 people were killed and 90 injured.
The Kabul suicide bomber struck Tuesday afternoon as workers were leaving a compound of government and legislative offices, said Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi. The second bomb, which was planted in a car, exploded minutes later after security forces had rushed in to help the victims, he said.
The Taliban, who have been waging a 15-year war against the U.S.-backed government, claimed the attack in the capital.
The 38 dead in Kabul included civilians and military personnel, and another 72 people were wounded, said Public Health Ministry official Mohibullah Zeer.
Fighting in Afghanistan tends to taper off during the winter, when mountain supply routes used by the insurgents are impassable.
President Ashraf Ghani condemned the Kabul bombings.
Amnesty International said the bombings indicate that “the Taliban are pressing ahead with a gruesome campaign of violence that makes no effort to spare civilian lives.”