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| 2 dead in southern Afghanistan bombing |
| 2004-02-16 |
| A soldier and shopkeeper were killed and six other people were injured when a bomb exploded Friday in a building housing a military unit in southern Afghanistan. The explosion in All Shaire district of troubled Khost province came just two days after the provinceâs deputy intelligence director was shot dead in broad daylight while on his way to work. Khost district chief Lutfullah said the bomb exploded at 9:00 am in a ground floor shop of the building which has a military post on the upper floor. âThis bomb was planted by al-Qaeda and Taliban in the shop and their aim was to kill soldiers on the second floor,â Lutfullah said. âIn the explosion one soldier died, one soldier was injured and the shopkeeper also died and five other civilians were injured.â Meanwhile more than 20 rockets landed near a US-led military base in Khost overnight, prompting the US-led coalition force to bomb the area, officials said. Hekâs boyz display their usual accuracy ... âAt about midnight last night, approximately 20 rockets impacted in the vicinity of our firebase in Khost,â US military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Brian Hilferty said, adding there were no coalition casualties. âAfter checking to ensure there were no civilian structures in the vicinity of the launch point, we did return fire with artillery and precision guided bombs. At this time there is no indication of anti-coalition militia casualties.â The rockets were fired early Friday morning near the US base in Khost, some 150 kilometers southeast of Kabul, military commander Khial Baz Khan told AFP by satellite phone. âSome 21 rockets were fired but fortunately none of them caused any casualties,â he said. Khost, a key province and city in southeastern Afghanistan and bordering Pakistan, has frequently been subjected to attacks by suspected militants believed to be regrouping. Just a coincidence that happens to be adjacent to Pakistan, though ... A spokesman for the ousted Islamic fundamentalist regime has claimed responsibility for Wednesdayâs attack, saying the intelligence director was targeted because he had given information to US forces and was formerly a member of an Afghan communist party. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |