Monitoring Desk
JALALABAD: Fifteen persons were killed and 14 more wounded in a bomb blast during funeral prayers of a former district governor in Nangarhar province on Sunday.
Explosives planted in a motorcycle went off during funeral prayers in Muqam Khan area in the limits of Behsud district at around 2:30 pm, Nangarhar governor’s spokesman Attaullah Khugiyani told media.
“Explosives planted in a motorbike exploded while people were offering funeral prayers of former governor of Haska Maina district, Gul Wali. Resultantly, 15 people were killed and 14 more injured,” he said.
The locals stated that it was a suicide attack. Most of victims are relatives and associated with Haji Gul Wali, the late governor of the restive Haska Maina neighborhood.
Meanwhile, Nangarhar public health director Dr Najibullah Kamawal said they had received 15 dead and 14 injured people from the blast site so far. Most of the victims were civilians. Some of them belonged to the same family.
Some of the injured were in critical condition, he said. The death toll could further rise, he added. A motorcycle and a rickshaw were damaged in the bombing.
Dr. Ehsanullah Shinwari, director of regional public hospital in the provincial capital Jalalabad, has confirmed the death toll.
“As I am talking to you now, bodies of 15 martyred and 14 injured people have been brought to the hospital; some of them are in critical condition,” Shinwari said.
Earlier, Attaullah Khugiyani said it was a suicide attack.
Chief Executive Officer Dr Abdullah Abdullah condemned the bombing in strong words and expressed grief over the loss of precious lives in the incident. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast so far.
Meanwhile, the Afgha-nistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) on Sunday said that over 1900 civilians have been killed or wounded in the southern province of Helmand last year.
All the victims were killed or wounded as a result of the war, including explosions and terror attacks, AIHRC site office in Helmand said in a statement on Sunday.
Residents in Helmand have called on the warring factions to ensure the security and safety of civilians during the conflict. From the figures, over 200 civilians killed and 1700 others were wounded, said the AIHRC site office.
“Helmand has had two bloody years. The number of civilian casualties, among them women and children, have been higher and we are very concerned about it,” said Afifa Maroof, AIHRC site office chief in Helmand.
“Both sides have used civilian homes as shields. Civilian casualties have been on the rise because the warring sides do not respect the rules of war,” said a civil society activist in Helmand Nazar Mohmammad Rodai.
But, local officials in the province have blamed the Taliban for most of the fatalities among the civilians. “Our security forces have always tried to ensure the security of the civilian population. The majority of the casualties have been inflicted by the Taliban,” said spokesman for the governor of Helmand.
