Suicide bombing in Afghanistan's Kandahar city kills 21
World
There was no immediate claim of responsibility
KANDAHAR (AFP/Web Desk) – A suicide bombing killed at least 21 people and wounded several others on Thursday in the Afghan city of Kandahar, a provincial official said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, and while multiple explosions have been reported around the country since the start of the holy month of Ramazan on March 11, few have been confirmed by Taliban officials.
Afghanistan's capital is Kabul but Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada lives in Kandahar city, for decades the stronghold of the Taliban movement.
A British media outlet reported nearly two dozen people were killed citing a doctor at the regional hospital; however, the government said that three people had died, while numerous others were wounded.
The explosion at around 8:00 am (0330 GMT) targeted a group of people waiting outside the New Kabul Bank branch in central Kandahar city.
"Commonly our compatriots gather there to collect their salaries," Samangani said, adding that the "victims were civilians".
Taliban authorities had surrounded the area outside the bank and did not let journalists close to the site.
However, an AFP journalist saw what appeared to be unconscious people or dead bodies being loaded into ambulances in the wake of the blast.
Firefighters and security personnel were clearing the area, where blood, scraps of clothes and shoes littered the ground.
Samangani said "the situation is under control" at one of the city's hospitals where wounded were transported, denying that the need for blood donations was urgent as had circulated on social media.
"There is no such issue, and the wounded people are not in serious condition, they have superficial injuries," he said in a message to journalists.
The number of bomb blasts and suicide attacks in Afghanistan has markedly declined since the Taliban ended their insurgency after seizing power in August 2021, ousting the US-backed government.
However, a number of armed groups -- including the regional chapter of Da'ish -- remain a threat.
