Jalalabad: A suicide attacker blew himself up near an Afghan security forces vehicle Tuesday, killing at least 10 people, mostly civilians, officials said, in the latest deadly violence to rock the country.
The explosion in the eastern city of Jalalabad also left at least four people wounded and set a nearby petrol station alight, provincial governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani informed. Eight civilians were among the dead, Khogyani added.
“I saw a big ball of fire that threw people away. The people were burning,” Esmatullah, who witnessed the incident, said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest attack in restive Nangarhar province, which borders Pakistan.
The Islamic State group has claimed a series of high-casualty suicide attacks in the province in recent weeks, as US and Afghan forces continue offensive operations against the group.
While the Taliban is Afghanistan’s largest militant group, IS has a relatively small but potent presence mainly in the east and north of the country.
Tuesday’s attack comes a day after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed hope for peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban, during an unannounced visit to Kabul.
Pompeo’s first trip to Afghanistan since he was sworn in as America’s top diplomat in April came amid renewed optimism for peace in the war-weary country following last month’s unprecedented ceasefire by the Taliban and Kabul during Eid.
The most recent attack in Jalalabad July 1 saw 19 people killed and 21 wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus. The group had been waiting to meet Ghani when the bomber struck. That came after two separate suicide attacks in Nangarhar during the ceasefire that were also claimed by IS.
