Afghan suicide bomber kills 21
KABUL — A suicide bomber blew himself up in eastern Afghanistan Saturday, killing 21 people and wounding another 41, most of them believed to be Taliban fighters who had gathered to celebrate a three-day ceasefire marking the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr, a police official said.
Nangarhar provincial
Police Chief Ghulam
Sanayee Stanikzai said the devastating explosion came as previously unthinkable scenes of unarmed Taliban fighters celebrating Eid, often alongside Afghan security forces, played out in cities throughout the war-shattered country Friday and again Saturday.
Within hours of the explosion, President Ashraf Ghani announced he’d extend a nine-day ceasefire that was to expire Sunday and which he had unilaterally announced last week.
The ceasefire was to end at the conclusion of the Eid holiday, which follows the month-long fasting month of Ramadan.
Ghani offered no details of the extension, including how long it would be in effect.
The Taliban’s leader, Haibatullah Akhunzada, on Monday separately announced a three-day truce to mark the Eid holiday.
The Taliban ceasefire took effect at midnight Thursday.
Ghani in his statement announcing the extension called on the Taliban to reply in kind.
He also said that a ceasefire could be accompanied with visits to their prisoners and treatment for their fighters at hospitals in Afghanistan.