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Afghanistan: 17 killed in Khost blast, 33 injured

Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 06 May 2018

Afghanistan: 17 killed in Khost blast, 33 injured

Khost: At least 17 people were killed in a suspected IED blast inside an election-related facility in Khost province of Afghanistan on Sunday, media reports said.

The IED reportedly was placed inside a mosque which was a facility center for registering voters, reported Tolo News.

The blast left 33 others injured, reports said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.

Security forces have reached the spot of the blast.

Terrorism-hit Afghanistan in 2018

Afghanistan has witnessed several terrorism-related attacks this year.

Armed conflict in Afghanistan killed 763 civilians and injured 1,495 in the first three months of this year, the United Nations mission in the country said recently.

“All parties to the conflict in Afghanistan must do everything in their power to protect civilians from harm,” said Ingrid Hayden, the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan. “Afghan civilians continue to suffer, caught in the conflict, in ways that are preventable; this must stop now.”

The 2,258 civilian casualties, documented from 1 January to 31 March by the UN Assistance Mission in the country, known as UNAMA, are at the similar levels recorded in the first three months of 2017 and 2016. Anti-Government elements caused 1,500 civilian casualties, up six per cent from the same period last year.

Suicide improvised explosive devices (IED) and complex attacks were the leading cause of civilian casualties – a new trend. The Mission found that combats on the ground were the second leading cause, followed by targeted and deliberate killings, explosive remnants of war, and aerial operations.

 

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