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Car Bomb Kills 27 in Afghanistan's Eastern Logar Province

1 May 2021 21:16

Islam Times - A large car bomb exploded in Afghanistan's eastern Logar province, killing at least 27 people and injuring dozens more, including high school students, according to local officials.


The car packed with explosives detonated in Logar's capital of Pul-e Alam near the house of the former head of the provincial council, said Didar Lawang, the spokeman for Logar's governor.

The house also operated as a guesthouse and the blast had struck just as guests were breaking their fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, according to the head of Logar's provincial council, Hasibullah Stanekzai, who told Reuters 27 people had been killed and dozens more wounded.

He said among the casualties were high school students who had been staying at the house, having travelled to the capital to sit their university entrance exam, as well as pro-government militia members who were staying there while waiting for air transport to another district.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the blast. A spokesman for the insurgent Taliban said in response to Reuters' questions that they were looking into the matter.

The deadly violence also came just a day before the United States and its NATO partners officially begin pulling out the last of their troops of the war-torn country.

The military withdrawal of about 2,500 American soldiers and around 7,000 allied troops is scheduled to be completed by September 11.

The US along with its NATO allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001 under the guise of fighting terrorism and dismantling the Taliban.

The invasion — which has turned into the longest war in US history — removed the Taliban from power, but the militant group has never stopped its attacks, citing the foreign military presence as one of the main reasons behind its continued militancy.

Nearly two decades after the invasion, Washington struck a deal with the Taliban in the Qatari capital of Doha early last year.

Under the deal, all foreign troops were expected to leave Afghan soil by May in exchange for the Taliban to halt their attacks on American forces.


Story Code: 930252

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https://www.islamtimes.org/en/news/930252/car-bomb-kills-27-in-afghanistan-s-eastern-logar-province

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