KANDAHAR, Feb 17: A suicide blast tore through a crowd watching a dog fight in Afghanistan on Sunday, killing up to 80 men and boys in one of the deadliest attacks of a Taliban-led insurgency.
Officials blamed the Taliban for the explosion on the outskirts of the southern city of Kandahar but the Al Qaeda-linked group did not immediately claim responsibility.
Bodies and bloodied limbs lay among boots, Afghan caps, turbans, shawls and mobile phones — some of them ringing — after the explosion that struck as two large fighting dogs were beginning a match, witnesses said.
The blast ripped up several police vans parked at the site, where spectators were crowded around a fighting arena while others sat nearby having a picnic. At least one large fighting dog was also killed.
One of about 500 people at the match said in a military hospital where he was being treated for injuries to his arm that the blast had knocked him unconscious.
“It was all fun and two dogs had just begun fighting,” Abdul Qudous said.
“Suddenly a huge flame flashed and a huge bang was heard. I didn’t know what happened next but when I opened my eyes, I found myself here.” Dog fighting is a popular winter pastime in Afghanistan. It was banned under the 1996-2001 Taliban regime along with other activities like kite-flying.
Authorities issued different death tolls for the attack: the interior ministry in Kabul first said more than 80 people were killed but later dropped its toll to 65 with more than 50 wounded.
“A number of wounded are in a bad condition and it is possible the number of casualties will rise,” it said in a statement.
Ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary said that most of the casualties were civilian men but they included several youngsters and a “number” of policemen.
The bomber appeared to have been on foot, he said.
Kandahar governor Asadullah Khalid kept to his death toll of more than 80.
“Sixty-one bodies have been brought to Mirwais hospital and three wounded died in the military hospital. More than 20 other dead were taken by relatives,” he said.
“This suicide attack was the work of the Taliban, the enemies of Afghanistan,” he said.
Kandahar police chief General Sayed Aqa Saqeb said around 60 bodies were registered in hospitals and about 20 were believed to have been taken straight to their homes.
Wali Karzai, the brother of President Hamid Karzai and head of the Kandahar provincial council, also blamed the insurgent group, which was behind most of about 140 suicide attacks last year.
“Who else would carry out suicide bombings? Obviously the Taliban are the ones carrying out suicide attacks,” he said.
But a Taliban spokesman, Yousuf Ahmadi, would not confirm his group was involved.
The president condemned the attack from Qatar, where he was on an official trip, accusing the “enemies of Afghanistan who cannot tolerate the happiness of our people.” “Such acts are against the values of Islam,” he said in a statement.
The White House also condemned the bombing, saying it showed extremists here “offer nothing but violence and death.” “The Afghan people will not allow them stop the march to democracy and security,” said US national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe.
The blast was one of the deadliest in Afghanistan since the fall of the extremist regime. A suicide bombing in northern Baghlan province in November last year killed 79 people — most of them school pupils.
The Taliban did not admit responsibility for that blast but an official investigation concluded it was the work of the insurgents.—AFP
