Afghan suicide bombing kills 10
March 22, 2010, Monday
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A SUICIDE bomber killed 10 civilians yesterday when he detonated his explosives near a crowd in southern Afghanistan, while a roadside bomb in the east killed two others, officials said.
Violence in Afghanistan has surged, with 2009 being the worst year since US-backed Afghan forces overthrew the Taliban in 2001. More than 2,400 civilians were killed last year, a 14 percent rise on 2008, the United Nations said.
In the first incident, a suicide bomber driving a three-wheeled rickshaw detonated his explosives near a crowd who were holding a picnic for the Afghan New Year in Gereshk district of Helmand province, the provincial governor's spokesman said. "The target was an Afghan Army vehicle. The first reports are that 10 civilians have been killed and seven more wounded," said spokesman Daoud Ahmadi, adding that the bomb missed its target.
A witness said soldiers in the army vehicle spotted the vehicle before the blast. "The bomber was driving a rickshaw and was targeting an army vehicle. When the soldiers saw the rickshaw they sped up. The bomb exploded in a crowded area where many people were having picnics," said Khan Mohammad.
Separately, in Khost province in the southeast of the country, a roadside bomb killed two Afghan civilians and wounded four, a senior police chief said.
"A civilian car hit a roadside bomb on the outskirts of Khost city. Two civilians were killed and four wounded," said acting provincial police chief Mohammad Yaqoub Mandozai.
Washington will send in more troops as part of a new strategy to try to quell the mounting violence, lifting foreign troop numbers from 120,000 to 150,000 by the end of this year.
Violence in Afghanistan has surged, with 2009 being the worst year since US-backed Afghan forces overthrew the Taliban in 2001. More than 2,400 civilians were killed last year, a 14 percent rise on 2008, the United Nations said.
In the first incident, a suicide bomber driving a three-wheeled rickshaw detonated his explosives near a crowd who were holding a picnic for the Afghan New Year in Gereshk district of Helmand province, the provincial governor's spokesman said. "The target was an Afghan Army vehicle. The first reports are that 10 civilians have been killed and seven more wounded," said spokesman Daoud Ahmadi, adding that the bomb missed its target.
A witness said soldiers in the army vehicle spotted the vehicle before the blast. "The bomber was driving a rickshaw and was targeting an army vehicle. When the soldiers saw the rickshaw they sped up. The bomb exploded in a crowded area where many people were having picnics," said Khan Mohammad.
Separately, in Khost province in the southeast of the country, a roadside bomb killed two Afghan civilians and wounded four, a senior police chief said.
"A civilian car hit a roadside bomb on the outskirts of Khost city. Two civilians were killed and four wounded," said acting provincial police chief Mohammad Yaqoub Mandozai.
Washington will send in more troops as part of a new strategy to try to quell the mounting violence, lifting foreign troop numbers from 120,000 to 150,000 by the end of this year.
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