KABUL, Afghanistan, March 14 — A huge explosion on Wednesday in a hunting supplies store here killed at least six people and wounded nine, and a few hours later a suicide bomber detonated explosives strapped to his chest in a bazaar in the eastern province of Khost, killing five people and wounding 38, officials said. The early morning explosion in Kabul shook the city and turned an outdoor market near the store into a mass of debris. Afghan officials said that the explosion appeared to have been an accident and that it had occurred in a place where gunpowder and dynamite were stored. | Musta been the local branch of al-Bass Pro Shop, serving the elk hunting community |
| Might have been trout fishing. I always use dynamite when I go trout fishing. |
Nothin' better for barking dogs.
Relatives of the storeÂ’s owners were digging in the debris on Wednesday to try to find the victims. The blast also destroyed more than a dozen other shops and two vehicles.
The suicide bombing came hours later in the provincial capital, Khost. Four civilians and a police officer were killed, and the wounded included nine police officers and two children, said the provincial public health director, Dr. Muhammadin, who, like many Afghans, uses only one name. The attack was apparently aimed at a police convoy patrolling the crowded bazaar. It was the fourth attack in 24 hours by suspected insurgents in the volatile southern and eastern areas of Afghanistan, where fighters linked to the Taliban are active. Two suicide attacks and a roadside bomb killed four people and wounded at least 10 in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday.
Arsallah Jamal, the governor of Khost Province, blamed “the enemy of Afghanistan” for the attack, a term he has used for fighters suspected of being allied with the ousted Taliban government and Al Qaeda. “We want the international community to help us more and pressure our neighboring countries to stand firm on the campaign against international terrorism,” he said by phone, in a clear reference to Pakistan, where militants are believed to be hiding in the border areas. |