Eidul Fitr celebrated amid bloodshed

KABUL, like the rest of Muslim countries, on Sunday celebrated the festival of Eidul Fitr amid tight security in major cities, with bloodshed continuing.

In the central capital Kabul, big Eid congregations held in the Eidgah mosque, Pul-i-Khusti mosque, Wazir Akbar Khan diplomatic district and several other parts.

President Hamid Karzai offered Eid prayers at the mosque in the Presidential Palace. High-ranking government officials, former jihadi leaders, cabinet ministers and parliamentarians joined Karzai in offering the prayers.

Special prayers were offered for peace in the country and its prosperity in mosques as insurgent attacks continued to take place in several provinces on the first day of the festival, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramazan.

A dozen insurgents, including foreigners, were killed during a NATO airstrike in the Wata Pur district of eastern Kunar province, the governor said on Sunday.

Two people were killed and 10 others wounded when bombs hidden in a cemetery exploded in Lashkargah, the capital of southern Helmand province. While, two key commanders were among five insurgents killed during separate operations in southern Ghazni province, where a police officer was shot dead.

Also, three international soldiers were killed in a bomb attack in eastern Afghanistan, the alliance said on Sunday.

In Pakistan, Afghan refugees also celebrated Eidul Fitr in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The refugees offered Eid prayers in seminaries in Nowshera district and in their camps in the provincial capital, Peshawar.

Afghan refugees living in the Dir district also celebrated the festival with the rest of the province.

The Khyber Pakhtunkwa government on Saturday announced to celebrate the festival on Sunday, a day ahead of the central government.

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