Car bomb blast in Afghanistan’s Herat province kills at least eight, injures 47
The death toll is expected to rise in Friday night’s explosion that also destroyed 14 houses because several of the injured were in critical condition, a government official said.
One of the dead and 11 of the wounded were Afghan Security Forces personnel, while the rest were civilians, including women and children, Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said. AP
Kabul: A powerful car bomb killed at least eight people and wounded 47 in Afghanistan’s western Herat province, authorities said Saturday. Hours later, the UN condemned an “alarming” increase in attacks in the country against civilians.
The death toll is expected to rise in Friday night’s explosion that also destroyed 14 houses because several of the injured were in critical condition, said Rafiq Sherzai, a spokesman for the provincial hospital.
One of the dead and 11 of the wounded were Afghan Security Forces personnel, while the rest were civilians, including women and children, Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said.
No one immediately claimed responsibility.
Hours after the attack, the UN Security Council at a press conference in New York condemned an “alarming” increase in attacks in Afghanistan against civilians even as the Taliban and the Afghan government hold intermittent talks in Qatar.
“These heinous attacks have targeted public officials, the judiciary, the media, healthcare and humanitarian workers, including women in prominent positions, who protect and promote human rights and ethnic and religious minorities. “said the council.
An injured man is treated at a hospital after a car bomb attack in Herat province, west of Kabul, Afghanistan. AP
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for many of the targeted killings, while the Taliban and the government have blamed each other for trying to sabotage efforts to reach a peace agreement.
The slow pace of the talks and the increase in violence have led the United States to improvise a peace proposal, which was presented last weekend. Both sides are expected to review and modify the eight-page plan ahead of a far-reaching meeting that the United States has proposed to be held in Turkey in a few weeks, when Washington hopes to see a deal.
Meanwhile, the United States is reviewing a peace accord the Trump administration signed with the Taliban, which calls for the final withdrawal of the remaining 2,500 US troops from Afghanistan by May 1.
The growing consensus is for a delay, but in a harshly worded letter to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani last weekend pushing for peace with the Taliban to advance, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that all options, including withdrawal, are still on the table.
The proposed US peace accord calls for an interim “peace government” to guide postwar Afghanistan toward elections and constitutional reforms. It also calls for the protection of equal rights for women and minorities.
The UN Security Council also called for “the full, equal and meaningful participation of women” and a rapid step towards reducing violence.
Subscribe to Moneycontrol Pro at ₹ 499 for the first year. Use code PRO499. Limited time offer. * Terms and conditions apply
She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.