Afghan President Hamid Karzai declared three days of mourning for victims of a suicide blast targeting a group of lawmakers and children, as the death toll rose yesterday to 41, making it the deadliest attack in Afghanistan since the 2001 US-led invasion.
Hundreds of mourners gathered at a mosque near the site of the bombing in the town of New Baghlan, 150km north of Kabul, before moving to a simple hilltop graveyard to bury the dead.
"My son was supposed to finish school this year, but yesterday I had to peel off his blood-soaked clothes, and today I buried him," said an elderly man who broke down in tears at one grave site.
He didn't give his name.
Karzai said six members of parliament were killed in the blast on Tuesday and warned that the overall toll could rise further because some victims might have been taken away from the scene without being counted officially.
The president, joined by dozens of other Afghan leaders, watched honor guards carry the coffins of the six lawmakers from a helicopter and down a red carpet at Kabul's main airport yesterday.
After the bombing on Tuesday, shots were fired at the scene, said 20-year-old Bakir, whose cousin, lawmaker Sayed Mustafa Kazimi, was killed in the blast.
Five civilians were treated for bullet wounds at New Baghlan's hospital, said Narmgui, a doctor at the hospital, who like many Afghans goes by only one name.
Karzai ordered an investigation into the attack.
"There is no doubt this was a terrorist attack," Karzai told a news conference in Kabul.
He blamed the bombing on "the enemies of peace and security," a phrase often used for the militant Taliban, and directed authorities to conduct a thorough investigation. Such a spectacular attack also could have been the work of al-Qaeda. The Taliban denied involvement.
The attack occurred as the lawmakers were being greeted by children on a visit to a sugar factory in Afghanistan's normally peaceful north.
Video obtained by AP Television News of the scene just before the blast shows schoolchildren, tribal elders and government officials lining the streets to greet 18 lawmakers as they were about to enter the factory.
Shafiqullah, 18, said he had not seen his younger brother since the attack and was looking for him.
"My brother came here yesterday and after the incident he never returned home," Shafiqullah said. "I checked all the hospitals. I couldn't find him anywhere."
Some of the children shook hands with the guests and one teenager handed red and pink roses to Kazimi -- a former Afghan commerce minister and a powerful member of the opposition party National Front.
Moments later, Kazimi was dead.
At least 42 of the 81 wounded were schoolchildren, said Mohammad Yousuf Fayez, a doctor at Baghlan's main hospital. Several children were among the dead.
The video does not show the explosion. After the blast, it shows dead and wounded schoolchildren on the ground. Shoes, sandals, hats and notebooks were scattered about.
Many victims were taken to the hospital, their legs and faces stained with blood.
The video also shows an Afghan man holding the head of who he said was the suicide attacker, shouting "This is the guy who destroyed everything! This is the guy who killed us!"
No one claimed responsibility for the attack, and a purported Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, denied the militant group was involved.
"The Taliban doesn't target civilians," he said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft