Suicide blast leaves 5 dead in Laghman

MEHTARLAM (PAN): Five people were killed and a dozen others wounded when a suicide attacker rammed his explosives-packed motorcycle into a gate of a district headquarters building in eastern Laghman province on Monday, officials said.

Foreign soldiers were among 12 people injured in the blast that took place in Qarghae district at 10:15am, the governor’s spokesman, Faizanullah Pathan, told Pajhwok Afghan News.

District chief, Saleh Mohammad, said the attacker exploded his explosives near a military vehicle of foreign troops at the gate of the district headquarters compound.

The victims were waiting near the gate to receive national identity cards when the blast took place, he said. Five people were killed and 12 others wounded.

There were some casualties among foreign troops, the district chief said, but he had no exact figures for that.

The attack came moments after a meeting between Afghan and NATO) officials concluded in the compound, a security official said on condition of anonymity.

Earlier, a security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Pajhwok Afghan News that six civilians and two policemen were killed in the blast. He added three US soldiers and some students were among several others wounded in the attack.

A resident of the area, Abdul Satar, said his 8-year old son died in the blast. His son visited the district headquarters to get his ID card, but he died before receiving it, said.

A witness, Jan Mohammad, said he saw four dead bodies and some injured people at the scene.  Foreign soldiers airlifted their dead and injured colleagues by a helicopter, he said.

ISAF’s media office in Kabul confirmed that its two soldiers were wounded in the blast, but none of them was killed. “We have reports of a motorcycle borne suicide attack in Laghman province. There were some casualties, No ISAF servicemembers were killed, but two were wounded,” the force said in a statement.

As usual, the Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack, with rebel spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, saying 11 Afghan and foreign soldiers were killed.

The latest suicide attack came days after six foreign and several Afghan soldiers were killed in a suicide attack targeting an Afghan army base in Gambiri desert area of the same district.

myn/ma

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