Tens killed, wounded in Nangarhar suicide attack on protesters

A suicide bomber in eastern Nangarhar province killed at least 32 people at a gathering on Tuesday on the highway between Jalalabad and Torkham, governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyanai said.
The blast, less than a week after a suicide attack killed more than 20 people in the capital, Kabul, came as violence has flared across Afghanistan, with heavy fighting in northern provinces.
Officials have warned violence is likely to intensify ahead of parliamentary elections next month and a presidential election in April.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Tuesday’s attack, although the Taliban issued a statement denying involvement.
At least 32 bodies were taken to hospitals and 128 people were wounded, but the final death toll was unclear as late Tuesday evening, Khogyanai said.
However, Sohrab Qaderi, a member of the Nangarhar provincial council, told Reuters News Agency that at least 56 bodies were taken to hospitals, with 43 more wounded.
Officials and elders said Tuesday’s attack targeted a gathering to protest against a police commander, adding that hundreds of people were present when the blast happened.
The blast dispersed the crowd, but more people gathered after the explosion to continue the protest.
Qaderi said rescue efforts were being hampered by reports of another suicide bomber in the area, making police and emergency services cautious about approaching the scene.
The explosion followed a series of smaller blasts on Tuesday that targeted schools in Jalalabad and surrounding districts, killing at least one person and wounding three.
This comes as security of Nanagarhar was handed over to National Army after a string of deadly attacks few weeks back. At that time, there were even concerns that capital of the province Jalalabad city was on the verge of collapse.
In meantime, in the northern province of Sar-e-Pul, hundreds of armed men assembled to boost the city’s defenses as security forces fought to push the Taliban back from the city center, said Zabihullah Amani, the provincial governor’s spokesman.
There were no reports of US strikes in Sar-e Pul on Tuesday but there were three strikes on Monday, a spokesman for US forces in Afghanistan said in an emailed statement.
Two air strikes in Baghlan province on Tuesday followed six the day before and American advisers were on the ground supporting Afghan troops, the spokesman added.
Ghulam Mohammad Balkhi, deputy spokesman for the Afghan army’s 209 Corps, said at least 30 Taliban fighters were killed in the joint operation.