According to provincial authorities, assailants set off a truck bomb in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar region on Saturday, killing at least 15 people and injuring hundreds. This happened as unrest persists in the war-torn country amid an ongoing peace talk in Qatar.
Attaullah Khugyani, the spokesperson for the provincial government, confirmed that the number of victims. He added that most of them are civilians, and the number could increase. Furthermore, the blast left scores of people wounded in the Ghani Khel area.
Obaidullah Shinwari, a member of the Nangarhar Provincial Council, confirmed the explosion wounded 52 people.
No group took responsibility for the assault so far.
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Interior Minister Tariq Arian condemned the insurgent Taliban for the strike. He also claimed that they had carried out 650 attacks in the last two weeks, killing 69 civilians and injuring 141 people.
The Taliban did not reply instantly to requests for comments.
Truck Bomb amid peace talk
In an effort to resolve decades of war, Afghan government diplomats are holding negotiations with the insurgent Taliban. The talk is happening in their political capital of Doha.
However, the Taliban have so far declined demands by the government and the international community for a ceasefire or a decrease of bloodshed.
In addition, violence is intensifying after a decrease in the period of violence that lead to the United States negotiating. It talked with the alliance for a withdrawal of forces in February, aimed at opening the way for peace talks. Besides, in an effort to resolve the unending crisis, the US negotiated the release of some Taliban prisoners of the Afghan government.
Furthermore, the Ministry of the Interior also confirmed in Tweet that the Afghan forces killed a prominent Taliban member. Meanwhile, they detained five others in northern Balkh province on Friday night.
