Suicide bomber hits army base

ATTACK: MANY AFGHAN SECURITY OFFICERS PERISH

‘The bomber drove a Humvee vehicle right inside the base and detonated it.’

Asuicide car bomber struck an army base in Afghanistan yesterday killing at least 30 security personnel, officials said, in one of the bloodiest attacks in recent 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 government and Taliban are engaged in peace talks to end the war in the impoverished country that has killed tens of thousands of people in nearly two decades.

“Thirty bodies and 24 wounded people have been brought to hospital. All of them are security personnel,” said Baz Mohammad Hemat, director of Ghazni hospital.

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,” said Ghazni governor spokesman Wahidullah Jumazada.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the att ack. It comes just days after two bombs killed 14 people in the historic city of Bamiyan, ending years of calm in the isolated town.

In another suicide car bomb attack yesterday, one civilian was killed and 20 others wounded in the southern city of Qalat in the province of Zabul, said provincial police chief Hekmatullah Kochi.

He said the attack targeted the vehicle of Zabul provincial council chief, Atta Jan Haqbayan, who was wounded.

Yesterday’s bombings marked the latest carnage in Afghanistan, where violence has surged since the start of peace talks on 12 September in the Qatari capital of Doha.

Brutal attacks have killed more than 50 people in Kabul in recent weeks, including two assaults on educational centres and a rocket att ack.

The three Kabul attacks were claimed by the Islamic State group, but Afghan officials blamed the Taliban – who denied any involvement. –