A roadside explosion killed at least five people and wounded 32 others in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar yesterday, police said.
A bomb blast hit a taxi carrying four women and two children, and injured others sitting in a nearby restaurant in the downtown Ahazrat Jibaba area of the city, said deputy provincial police chief General Salim Khan.
Dr. Azizullah Jan at Kandahar's Mirwais hospital said four men and one child were killed, and 32 others wounded.
American and Romanian forces based in Kandahar cordoned off the busy commercial area, which is crowded with shops and restaurants. The shoes and turbans of the wounded were scattered on the bloodstained street. The taxi, a three-wheeled tuk-tuk and two motorbikes were badly damaged by the blast.
Naimat Khan, who was sitting inside a roadside restaurant when the blast happened, said he helped put the wounded in passing vehicles and sent them to the hospital.
"Many people sitting outside were seriously wounded," he said. "Some people were covered in blood. I saw one man with his hand cut off from his body."
Police said the blast went off as the taxi traveled down the street, taking the women and children to a Muslim shrine. All six passengers were badly hurt.
Hundreds of bystanders gathered at the scene as American forces searched the area of the blast.
Jan, the hospital doctor, said that 19 of the wounded were sent to the US base at Kandahar for medical treatment.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which breaks a relative lull in violence in Afghanistan and could shake US military confidence that the resistance of Taliban-led militants is fading.
A feud has broken out between the top leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on whether to maintain close ties with Russia. The AfD leader Alice Weidel this week slammed planned visits to Russia by some party lawmakers, while coleader Tino Chrupalla voiced a defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The unusual split comes at a time when mainstream politicians have accused the anti-immigration AfD of acting as stooges for the Kremlin and even spying for Russia. The row has also erupted in a year in which the AfD is flying high, often polling above the record 20 percent it
Ecuadorans are today to vote on whether to allow the return of foreign military bases and the drafting of a new constitution that could give the country’s president more power. Voters are to decide on the presence of foreign military bases, which have been banned on Ecuadoran soil since 2008. A “yes” vote would likely bring the return of the US military to the Manta air base on the Pacific coast — once a hub for US anti-drug operations. Other questions concern ending public funding for political parties, reducing the number of lawmakers and creating an elected body that would
The latest batch from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s e-mails illustrates the extraordinary scope of his contacts with powerful people, ranging from a top Trump adviser to Britain’s ex-prince Andrew. The US House of Representatives is expected to vote this week on trying to force release of evidence gathered on Epstein by law enforcement over the years — including the identities of the men suspected of participating in his alleged sex trafficking ring. However, a slew of e-mails released this week have already opened new windows to the extent of Epstein’s network. These include multiple references to US President Donald
CHARGES: The former president, who maintains his innocence, was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison for a failed coup bid, as well as an assassination plot Far-right former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro is running out of options to avoid prison, after judges on Friday rejected his appeal against a 27-year sentence for a botched coup bid. Bolsonaro lost the 2022 elections and was convicted in September for his efforts to prevent Brazlian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking power after the polls. Prosecutors said the scheme — which included plans to assassinate Lula and a top Brazilian Supreme Court judge — failed only due to a lack of support from military top brass. A panel of Supreme Court judges weighing Bolsonaro’s appeal all voted to uphold
RSS