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Car Bomb Kills 35 in Southern Afghanistan
| KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A suicide car bomber targeting a Canadian military convoy killed 35 civilians at a busy market in southern Afghanistan, a police official said. At least 28 people were wounded in the attack in Spin Boldak, a town in Kandahar province near the border with Pakistan, said Abdul Razeq, the Spin Boldak border police chief. Three Canadian soldiers were lightly wounded, he said. The attack comes one day after Afghanistan's deadliest bombing since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. More than 100 people were killed by a suicide bomber outside Kandahar city on Sunday. The back-to-back bombings could indicate a change in tactics by militants. Though attacks occasionally have killed dozens, insurgents in Afghanistan have generally sought to avoid targeting civilians. The country saw a record level of violence last year, and analysts and military leaders here have predicted that 2008 could turn even deadlier. One of the Canadian military vehicles was heavily damaged in the attack, as were several shops and civilian vehicles, said Abdul Razeq, the Spin Boldak border police chief. Khalid said several of the wounded were in critical condition and that the death toll could rise. Though the Afghan-Pakistan border had been closed Monday because of elections in Pakistan, several of the wounded were taken to Chaman, Pakistan, for treatment, Razeq said. |
