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Suicide bomb attack kills two in eastern Afghanistan
JALALABAD, Afghanistan, Aug 25, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – An suicide bomb blast
outside killed at least two people Saturday outside an election commission
office in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, officials said.
The latest attack in the war-torn country targeted a protest camp outside
the building in Nangarhar province, where a group of people were rallying in
support of a candidate disqualified from parliamentary elections due in
October.
“It killed two people, and four others were wounded,” provincial governor
spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP, adding that a suicide attacker was
responsible for the explosion.
Provincial health director Najib Kamawal confirmed the two deaths.
An eyewitness said the blast was caused by a suicide bomber who detonated
explosives near a tent full of protesters outside the election commission’s
office in Jalalabad, sending people fleeing as security forces cordoned off
the area.
“It was very big blast and it shook our home,” said witness Mirza Amin,
who added she lived 50 metres (160 feet) from the site of the explosion.
The blast comes nearly a week after President Ashraf Ghani offered a
conditional three-month ceasefire to the Taliban, a move welcomed by the
United States and NATO after nearly 17 years of war.
The Taliban have yet to provide an official response to the offer.
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1441 hrs