Deadly car bomb hits Afghanistan's Lashkar Gah
Most of the casualties were civilians, according to Helmand governor [Noor Mohammad/AFP] |
At least 29 people have been killed after a car bomb exploded outside
a bank in Lashkar Gah, capital of the southern Afghan province of
Helmand, the provincial governor said.
At least 60 people were wounded in the attack outside the New
Kabul Bank branch and most of the casualties were civilians, Hayaullah
Hayat said.
The blast took place around 12 noon local time (08:00 GMT), according
to the governor's spokesperson Omar Zwak, when civilians and members of
the security forces waiting to collect their pay.
The blast upturned vehicles, left the area littered with charred debris and sent a plume of smoke rising in the sky.
The bank is believed to have been especially crowded ahead of the Eid holidays marking the end of Ramadan.
— 1TVNewsAF (@1TVNewsAF) June 22, 2017
There were reportedly many Afghan National Army soldiers inside the bank at the time of the explosion.
Emergency workers and passers-by tried to help the injured, who were
strewn among the dead.
Ambulances and private cars ferried the victims
to hospitals.
"Civilians and military are among the wounded," Zwak said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
Al Jazeera's Rob McBride, reporting from Kabul, said the New Kabul Bank had been targeted before,
"It handles salary payments for security forces," he said.
"Because it has been targeted before, it does have very tight
security. But there's only so much you can do with a car bomb outside."
Last month, at least three people were killed and many wounded in an attack on a bank in the eastern city of Gardez.
In a similar attack in February, at least six people were killed when
a Taliban bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into Afghan soldiers
who had queued outside a bank in Lashkar Gah to collect their salaries.
The Taliban effectively control or contest 10 of the 14 districts in Helmand.
Intensified fighting last year forced thousands of people to flee to Lashkar Gah from neighbouring districts.
Since they launched their spring offensive in late April, the Taliban
have been mounting lethal assaults on the Afghan army and police
outposts in Helmand.
Washington is expected to announce an increase in the US military deployment to bolster Afghan forces.
US troops in Afghanistan now number about 8,400, and there are
another 5,000 from NATO allies, a far cry from the US presence of more
than 100,000 six years ago. They mainly serve as trainers and advisers.
Pentagon chief Jim Mattis this month acknowledged that America still
is "not winning" in Afghanistan nearly 16 years after the US-led
invasion toppled the Taliban regime.
Al Jazeera and news agencies
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