AfghanistanÂ’s biggest suicide attack is now known to have killed 59 schoolboys, the Education Ministry said on Friday, announcing a nationwide ban on students greeting politicians or dignitaries, while a British soldier serving was killed on Friday after the vehicle he was travelling in went off the road and rolled over a bridge, the Ministry of Defence said.
Five teachers and six members of parliament were also killed in TuesdayÂ’s blast in the north of Afghanistan, which has shaken public faith in the ability of the government, and foreign troops in the country to provide security.
The suicide bomber blew up as schoolboys lined up to greet a visiting delegation of opposition parliamentary deputies in the town of Baghlan. “We have 64 martyrs. 59 of them are children, and five of them are teachers,” said Education Ministry spokesman Zahoor Afghan. “There are 96 wounded. Of those three are teachers, the rest are students.” Officials had previously put the total death toll at 52. As well as the boys, teachers and parliamentarians, a number of police and adult civilians were also killed in the attack. No schoolgirls were among the dead, Afghan said. It was too early to say who might have been responsible for the blast, officials said. Afghan police detained two men on suspicion of involvement, the governor of Baghlan province said on Friday.
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