4 dead, 24 injured in Herat suicide blasts

HERAT CITY (PAN): Four people were killed and 24 others wounded in two back-to-back suicide bombings that rocked the capital of western Herat on Monday noon, hospital sources said.

The blasts, followed by a fierce clash, happened in Jada-i-Mahtab and Cinema Chowk areas of Herat City around noon, said Col. Abdul Ahmadi, western zone police spokesman.

So far four dead bodies and two dozen injured people have been brought to hospital, Public Health Director Dr. Ghulam Saeed Rashid told Pajhwok Afghan News.

Two guards of the Italian-led Provincial Reconstruction) were among the injured, the director said, adding that the rest were civilians.

However, Col. Ahmadi put the toll at three dead and 26 wounded. He said the first attack in the Cinema Chowk area targeted a convoy of foreign troops.

The second blast took place near the PRT office in the Jada-i-Mahtab neighbourhood of the fifth district.

“Gunshots rang out in Jada-i-Mahtab until 1pm,” resident Ahmad Raza said, adding some people were fleeing the locality while others were staying indoors.

The blasts happened at 11:20am, according to witness Sohail Ahmad, who said: “The explosions were massive and gunfire can still be heard in.”

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