Khost: A suicide bomber walked onto a
busy Afghan street and blew himself up today, killing three
people and wounding another 18, a senior official said.
The attacker detonated explosives strapped to his body
in Shahidan Avenue in Sharana, the capital of rural Paktika
province which shares a long porous border with Pakistan,
local governor Abdul Qayum Katawazai said.
"Three people, including a policeman, were martyred
and another 18, including four policemen, were wounded in the
suicide blast today," he said.
Most of those hurt were civilian passers-by. The rest
were police on duty at the time of the attack. The bomber`s
precise target was not clear.
"I think the target was civilians. They want to kill
civilians and create an environment of fear among people,"
Katawazai told, referring to insurgents.
Militants are influential in large parts of the
eastern province but are traditionally weak in Sharana and
other Paktika towns.
In neighbouring Khost province, a bomb stuck to a
vehicle killed the driver and wounded three other passengers,
said police official Mohammad Yaqoub.
The driver was working as a guard for foreign troops
stationed in the province but was killed off-duty while
wearing civilian clothes, he said.
PTI
