JNN 01 May 2011 : A bomb has exploded in a crowded market in southeast Afghanistan, leaving at least three civilians dead and 14 others wounded, the Interior Ministry says. According to the ministry, the incident occurred in Barmal district in Paktika province of the war-ravaged country on Sunday, when an attacker detonated his explosive vest in the market, a Press TV correspondent reported.
The insurgent movement announced in a statement Saturday that it would step up operations against military bases, convoys and Afghan officials, including members of the peace council working to reconcile with top insurgent leaders. The offensive begins each year after a winter lull in fighting.
“The use of children and youths who don’t know the difference between right and wrong in terrorist attacks is inhumane and against all Islamic principles,” the president said.
The suicide bomber detonated a vest packed with explosives inside a bazaar in the Barmal district of Paktika province, 160 miles (260 kilometres) southeast of Kabul, on the border with Pakistan. The blast killed four civilians and wounded 12, said Mokhlis Afghan, a spokesman for the provincial governor’s office.
Among the dead — and the likely target of the attack — was Sher Nawaz, head of a new district council in the Shakeen area of Paktika province, Afghan said
On Saturday, the Taliban warned of a fresh wave of assaults against foreign troops, Afghan security forces and government officials.
The surge in violence comes despite the presence of about 150,000 foreign troops, which are engaged in the so-called war on terrorism.
The war in Afghanistan, with civilian and military casualties at record highs, has become the longest war in US history.
Violence across Afghanistan hit record levels in 2010, leaving the highest civilian and military casualties since the start of the US-led war in 2001.
In other violence Sunday, a gunman opened fire on a checkpoint in the southwest province of Ghazni, killing two policemen and wounding a bystander during an hour-long battle, provincial police chief Zerawar Zahid said.
In a separate attack in Ghazni, militants detonated a bicycle rigged with explosives outside the provincial police headquarters complex, wounding 13 civilians, according to provincial officials.The wounded included an 11-year-old girl and two young boys. They had light shrapnel wounds, said Dr. Mohammad Ismail Ibrahimzai, head of the Ghazni Provincial Hospital.
In the country’s south, a suspected militant shot and killed an Afghan soldier at a checkpoint in Kandahar city, said deputy police chief Shershah Yousafzai.
In other violence in Kandahar, policemen receiving NATO-donated supplies including caps and protective eyewear drew guns and fought over the items, leaving one policeman dead and four wounded, said Arghandab district governor Shah Mohammad.
Jafria News 