Kandahar (Afghanistan): Four suicide bombers struck different parts of the southern city of Kandahar on Saturday. The Afghan president's half-brother said at least 30 people were killed and dozens more injured.
Ahmed Wali Karzai, a member of the Kandahar provincial council, said a main target of the nighttime attacks was a prison, but no prisoners escaped. In June 2008 a suicide bomber blew apart the Kandahar prison gates and a nearby checkpost freeing hundreds of prisoners — many of them suspected insurgents.
Karzai, the half-brother of President Hamid Karzai, said a second explosion occurred close to the police headquarters, and that casualties were reported at a wedding hall near the headquarters. He said two other explosions occurred near his home, which was not damaged.
Police officer Mohammad Nahim said at least four policemen are among those killed.
Kandahar has a population of about 800,000. It is the south's main commercial center and the major city in Kandahar province, the birthplace of the Taliban.
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, March 14, 2010, 00:26