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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

12 killed in attack on Afghan forces

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Jalalabad: A suicide attack in Afghanistan on Tuesday killed at least 12 people and ignited a nearby petrol station, officials said, with witnesses describing screaming victims “swallowed” by flames in the latest deadly violence to hit the country.


The bomber was targeting Afghan security forces when he blew himself up in the eastern city of Jalalabad, officials said.


Ten civilians were among the dead and least five people were wounded in the blast, the provincial governor’s spokesman Attaullah Khogyani said.


“I saw three people who had caught fire and were screaming,” Ibrahim, who was sitting inside his shop at the time of the attack, said.


“As I ran to help them, the fire swallowed them. I couldn’t help them and I ran to save myself.”


Some of the victims were brought to hospital with severe burns, health director Najibullah Kamawal said, confirming the casualty toll.


“I saw a big ball of fire that threw people away. The people were burning,” Esmatullah, who witnessed the incident, said.


Haji Ali Khan said he counted at least eight cars alight and “seven people who had been burned in the fire”.


Tolo News posted a video online showing several burned-out vehicles and gutted shops purportedly at the scene of the attack. — AFP


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