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Elderly bomber kills policeman
AN elderly man, who appeared to have difficulty walking, blew himself up and killed a policeman who was helping him in Afghanistan overnight, a local official said.The suicide bombing happened outside the offices of the governor of the eastern province of Paktika, a day after 26 people died in multiple Taliban attacks on the capital Kabul. Police at the entrance to the governor's office were assisting the man, who had trouble walking, when he set off explosives strapped to his body, provincial spokesman Hameedullah Zohak said. One policeman died and five were wounded, one critically, in the suicide blast, he said. Mr Zohak blamed the attack on "enemies of Afghanistan", a term used by Afghan authorities to refer to Taliban insurgents who were ousted from power in late 2001 by the US-led invasion. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, which was similar to scores of others in Afghanistan. Separately, a group claiming to be Taliban said that they fired four rockets overnight at a government compound near the western city of Herat. There were no casualties, officials said. The growing pace of insurgent attacks has alarmed Afghanistan and its international backers, particularly the United States, which is reviewing its strategy seven years after the invasion. Posted by: tipper 2009-02-12 |
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