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Suicide attack on Afghan anti-drugs team kills 18
A suicide bomb tore through a team preparing to eradicate opium poppy fields in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing 18 people, most of them policemen, the government said. The Taliban movement said one of its men carried out the attack in Khogyani in the eastern province of Nangarhar.The bomb struck as a counter-narcotics team, which included the district governor, was preparing to travel to opium fields on a mission to destroy illegal poppy crops, the Afghan Interior Ministry said in a statement. Eleven police and seven (civilians) lost their lives and 31 others were wounded, it said, adding that the district chief was among the wounded. In a statement condemning the bombing, the UN mission said, The circumstances of this attack illustrate the unmistakable bonds of partnership between terrorists and drug traffickers. The blast left the area covered in flesh and blood, a witness from the main hospital in the city of Jalalabad, said. Locals were sitting on the ground as the district authorities, district police chief, district governor and others were talking to them, saying they should not grow opium, said the man, who would not give his name. I saw a young boy who was carrying white papers wandering around the crowd, pretending he was applying for something at the district headquarters. All of a sudden I saw a big, red flame from among the crowd where the boy was standing and a big explosion followed, he said. Posted by: Fred 2008-04-30 |
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