By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan- On Thursday a suicide bomber blew himself up at a crowded market in a restive district of southern Afghanistan, killing up to 20 people in the deadliest attack in four months.
The bombing which occurred in the Dihrawud district of Uruzgan province comes as attacks by the Taliban militia increase in frequency. Afghan army General Abdul Hameed, commander of national forces in Uruzgan said, “This was a suicide bomber on foot who detonated himself at the gate of a money exchange market.” He added, “Up to now, 20 civilians have been killed and 13 wounded,”
The bomb could have gone off prematurely as the bomber waited for a military or police convoy to attack, said a deputy police commissioner.
In early September, 22 people were killed by a suicide bomber outside a mosque in eastern Afghanistan, and at least 43 died in an attack in Kandahar in August just days after President Hamid Karzai returned to power, following a fraud-tainted presidential election.
In another attack in the neighboring province of Helmand, a police officer was killed and five others were injured, NATO and Afghan authorities said.
Although there has been no immediate claim of responsibility, both attacks bore the hallmarks of the Taliban. In the Helmand attack, an explosive-packed car was responsible for killing the police officer and injuring four others. “According to initial reports one Afghan police officer has been killed and four wounded in a suicide-vehicle IED strike in Musa Qala,” NATO’s International Security Assiatance Force said. Abdul Salem, the district chief of Musa Qala, confirmed the attack.
Innocent civilians caught in the cross-fire between insurgents and Afghan and Western troops have borne the brunt of the violence.
A UN report released on Wednesday said the number civilians killed in violence in 2009 was higher than in any year since the Taliban were removed in 2001. The UN Mission in Afghanistan (Unama) reported that civilian casualties rose by 14% in 2009 compared with 2008. In total more than 2,400 civilians were killed in 2009. The report also said that 67 percent of civilian deaths were caused by Taliban attacks, while international troops and Afghan security forces were responsible for 25 percent.
For more information, please see:
BBC News- Suicide Bombing Kills 20 in Afghanistan Market– 14 January 2010
Associated Foreign Press- Afghan Market Suicide Bombing Kills 20 : General– 14 January 2010
Los Angeles Times- Afghanistan Suicide Attack Kills 20 – 15 January 2010
