Torkham blasts: 2 Pakistanis detained

JALALABAD (Pajhwok): The authorities have detained two Pakistani nationals on suspicion of involvement in overnight explosions that gutted several supply vehicles in the border town of Torkahm in eastern Nangarhar province, a military official said on Tuesday.

More than 20 oil tankers were destroyed in the serial blasts caused by magnetic bombs attached to the vehicles at a parking facility, said the 301st Zone border police commander, Col. Mohammad Ayub Hassankhel.

After the explosions, a suicide bomber attempted to attack a border police post, but the police shot him to death, causing his suicide vest to blow up. The police stayed unhurt, but two civilians, said to be oil tanker drivers, were injured in the blast, Hassankhel said.

“Two Pakistanis from Punjab province have been arrested at the incident site. There are signs that show the pair is involved. However, our investigation is still underway,” the official said.

Meanwhile, the governor’s spokesman, Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, also confirmed two suspects had been arrested in connection with attack. He said it would be determined what the two Pakistanis were doing there at the time of the attack.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the arson attack. The group’s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the coordinated attack that involved bomb blasts had killed and wounded many security personnel. He claimed 197 different kinds of vehicles were destroyed in the assault.

ma/mud

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