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Bombing hits bus transporting army recruits in Nangarhar, several killed

Afghan National Army (ANA) solders inspect the site of a car bomb attack south of the capital Kabul, September 12, 2019. (Photo by AFP)

Ten people, including a child, have been killed in a bomb attack targeting a bus transporting army recruits in Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar.

Sohrab Qaderi, a member of the Nangarhar provincial council, said the bombing was carried out as the vehicle was travelling from the eastern city of Jalalabad to the capital Kabul on Monday.

Attaullah Khogyani, the spokesman for the provincial governor of Nangarhar, confirmed that an explosives-laden motorcycle was detonated close to the bus.

"The bomb was placed in a motorcycle. Unfortunately, 10 civilians, including a child, were killed and 27 were wounded in this incident," Khogyani said.

Rahim Jan, a car washer who was near the scene of the blast, said the huge explosion knocked him to the ground.

"While trying to stand up I saw many dead and wounded people on the street," he told AFP from a local hospital. "I am wounded in my hands. My brother is also wounded."

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the terrorist attack.

Jalalabad is the scene of frequent acts of terror by the Taliban and the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group, which has carried out a string of bombings targeting government offices, schools, and aid groups over the past few months.

Eastern and northern Afghanistan have witnessed an expansion of the presence of Daesh terrorists in recent years. The notorious group has been mostly populating Nangarhar, from where it has planned attacks on major population centers across the country.

In April, a report suggested that the United States military had been allowing members of Daesh and their weapons into Afghanistan following the group's defeats in Syria and Iraq.

The rise of Daesh in Afghanistan coincides with peace talks between the administration of US President Donald Trump and the Taliban.

On September 9, Trump abruptly canceled the peace process and declared the talks “dead” after the militant group carried out a bomb attack in Kabul, which killed 12 people, including an American soldier.

Fierce clashes have escalated across Afghanistan following the collapse of diplomatic talks between the US and the Taliban. Fighting has picked up in several parts of the country over the past few weeks.

In a move to get the long-running tough talks going, the co-founder of the Taliban militant group and Washington’s special envoy for Afghanistan recently met in Pakistan.


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