Blast in Afghan music market leaves two dead

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Rescue officials try to extinguish fire at a commercial market in Jalalabad. — File photo by Reuters
Rescue officials try to extinguish fire at a commercial market in Jalalabad. — File photo by Reuters

KABUL: An improvised bomb exploded at a music market in an Afghan city on Saturday, leaving two people dead, officials said.

The blast at the market in the eastern city of Jalalabad, close to the border with Pakistan’s tribal areas, wounded four people, local government spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai said.

Two of the casualties later died from their injuries, Sayed Afandi Sayedi, a senior doctor at the local hospital, said.

Saturday’s blast and Friday’s bloody 12-hour siege at a hotel popular with families will add to fears that the Taliban are seeking to re-impose their extreme moral code as the departure of foreign forces approaches.

The 130,000 NATO troops are due to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014 and there are fears that their exit will lead to a reduction in rights and freedoms in the war-torn country.

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