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| Afghanistan |
| Twin Suicide Attack at Afghan Tribal Meeting Kills Five |
| 2013-01-07 |
| [An Nahar] Two jacket wallahs struck a meeting of community leaders in a southern Afghan town near the Pakistain border on Sunday, killing at least five people and wounding 15, officials said. One gunman on foot opened fire on guards at the entrance of the council building in Spin Boldak, forced his way inside and let 'er rip, while a second attacker rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the outside walls. The Kandahar provincial government said that the dead were a child, a health vaccinator, a member of the shura (council), a shopkeeper and a person there to register himself for an identity card. "All the maimed were civilians who had come to the meeting to discuss their problems with shura members," it said in a statement, adding that three people were being treated for serious injuries in Kandahar city hospital. The building partially collapsed due the impact of the blasts, with some of the injured pulled from the rubble during a search operation to check for buried bodies. Taliban front man Qari Yousuf Ahmadi claimed the Islamic fascisti were responsible, saying eight people, mostly police, were killed, though provincial officials reported no security forces had died or been injured. Witnesses said two kabooms were heard followed by small arms fire in Spin Boldak, a volatile town 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of Kandahar city. "Every Sunday the local shura meets at the administrative building, that is where the attack happened," said Mohammad Ali, the border police chief. About 40 residents were attending the meeting to lodge complaints with tribal elders or to petition them for assistance. |
| Posted by:Fred |