Bomb attack has hallmarks of the Taliban
Source: Agencies |
July 16, 2012, Monday
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AN initial investigation into a bloody weekend suicide bombing at a wedding suggests the Taliban and terrorists were responsible, Afghanistan's interior minister said yesterday.
A suicide bomber drew close to a warlord-turned-lawmaker at his daughter's wedding on Saturday, then blew himself up, killing the father of the bride and 22 others.
The Taliban have not claimed responsibility for the attack, nor have they denied doing it.
The grisly attack showed again how militants still have the capability of causing havoc in Afghanistan, despite a decade-long US-led military campaign in Afghanistan, and two and a half years before NATO is due to hand security responsibilities over to Afghan government forces.
Interior Minister Bismullah Khan Mohammadi was in Samangan province in northern Afghanistan yesterday to attend the funeral of Afghan National Police General Sayed Ahmad Sameh, the commander for the western region, who was killed in the attack.
The apparent target of the blast in the provincial capital of Aybak was Ahmad Khan Samangani, a well-known ethnic Uzbek who commanded forces fighting the Soviets in the 1980s and later became a member of parliament.
Samangani was welcoming guests to the wedding when the blast ripped through the building.
Mohammad Khan, the province's intelligence chief, and Mohammadullah, an Afghan National Army division commander who uses only one name, were also killed.
About 60 other people, including government officials, were wounded.
The interior minister said a government-appointed delegation was still investigating, but evidence already collected indicates the Taliban and terrorists orchestrated the bombing.
"They came yesterday and they have started their work to investigate this incident," Mohammadi said.
"Our police and the provincial governor of Samangan told me that some evidence has surfaced that indicates that Taliban and terrorists were involved," he said. "Since this incident just happened, they are continuing their work, and we are hopeful that we will be able to capture the perpetrators of this attack."
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