Suicide attack kills 20 at Afghan funeral
JALALABAD, Afghanistan, Sept 4, 2012 (AFP) - A suicide bomber targeted an Afghan government official at a village funeral near the Pakistan border on Tuesday, killing at least 20 people and 50 people wounded in one of the deadliest attacks of the year.
One official said up to 25 people died, including a son of the district governor, after the bomber walked into a crowd of mourners paying their respects to a late tribal elder in the remote Shigi village of Dur Baba district in the eastern province of Nangarhar.
District governor Hamisha Gul was the target and was wounded in the blast. His brother was also hurt in the attack, which happened at around 2:30 pm (1000 GMT).
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the Taliban have routinely targeted officials during their decade-long insurgency aimed at evicting US-led NATO troops and bringing down the Westernbacked Afghan government.
Violence has risen in recent months as insurgents look to capitalise on the phased withdrawal of the bulk of 130,000 Western combat troops who are due to leave at the end of 2014 and transfer full responsibility for security to their Afghan counterparts.Local officials suggested the attack could have been to avenge a recent pledge by tribesmen in the area to rise up against any Taliban who may stray into the district.
The United Nations says 1,145 civilians were killed and 1,954 wounded in the war in the first six months of this year, with the world body blaming 80 percent of the deaths on insurgents.