Islamabad behind Kandahar blasts: Patyal

KANDAHAR CITY (PAN of masterminding two back-to-back bomb blasts that killed nine people and injured 64 others in southern Kandahar province.

Hidden in a motorcycle and a car, the two bombs exploded inside a housing complex, Aino Mina, on the northern outskirts of Kandahar City, the provincial capital, on Friday evening.

The elite gated community is developed in part by Mahmood Karzai, President Karzai’s younger brother. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Patyal alleged Pakistan had carried out the attacks with the help of Taliban.

Addressing a press conference in Kandahar City, the deputy governor said one of the attacks was a suicide blast and that the injured included nearly a dozen policemen. The rest are civilians, including children.

The dead included three policemen and eight civilians, he said, claiming the attacks were aimed at terrorising residents and depriving them of a peaceful life. He alleged Pakistan was behind the attacks that were executed through “misguided Afghan Taliban”.

“These attacks are in no way Islamic or human. We strongly condemn them as the implementation of a foreign agenda,” Patyal remarked. He said security forces had been able to thwart similar assaults in the past.

Patyal said a number of vehicles had been destroyed in the twin blasts that also damaged several houses, offices and shops. Following the blasts, hundreds of people rushed to the Mirwais Hospital to donate blood.

Mohammad Naeem, whose two-year-old son was injured in the blasts, told Pajhwok Afghan News they were in a park in the area when the explosions happened. “As we offered evening prayers and returned to the park, there were two heavy explosions minutes apart, throwing my son 30 metres away,” Naeem recalled.

ma

Visits: 6