17Sep - AFGHANISTAN - double bombing kills 48+

[TonyGosling]

Ever since the UN found yanks have been killing more civilians than the Taliban bombs have been going off left right and centre to 'redress the balance'
But who's really planting these bombs?

Afghanistan war: Taliban bombs election rally and Kabul square
23 minutes ago
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-49726088

President Ashraf Ghani at an earlier election rally
Two separate suicide attacks in Afghanistan have killed at least 48 people and injured dozens others.

In Parwan province, north of the capital Kabul, an election rally where President Ashraf Ghani was due to speak was attacked, and 26 people died.

Another blast, near the US embassy in central Kabul, killed 22 people.

The Taliban said they were behind both attacks. The group has continued a concerted bombing campaign while at the same time taking part in peace talks.

But US President Donald Trump described the negotiations with the Taliban as "dead" earlier this month.

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The Taliban refuse to talk to the Afghan government and have vowed to disrupt the presidential election in the country on 28 September.

In a statement, they said: "We already warned people not to attend election rallies, if they suffer any losses that is their own responsibility."

What is known about the explosions?
Forty-two people are reported to have been injured in the election rally blast in Charikar, the capital of Parwan province, at 11:40 local time (07:10 GMT).

Children were among the casualties, medical staff said. The bomber, on a motorbike, triggered the blast at a checkpoint at the venue.

President Ghani, who hopes for a second five-year term, was not hurt.

Another suicide bomber targeted Kabul's busy Massood Square, the site of government ministries and Nato compounds, at 13:00 local time.

An additional 38 people were injured there, according to the Ministry of Interior Affairs.

On Twitter, the president called the perpetrator "a cowardly enemy".

Image Copyright @ashrafghani@ASHRAFGHANI
Report
What is the security situation in Afghanistan?
An average of 74 people were killed every day in the country in August, according to data collected by the BBC.

Most of the casualties were those involved in combat, such as Taliban fighters, but a fifth were civilians, including children.


Media captionThe BBC was given exclusive access to spend a week with ambulance workers in Afghanistan
The worst day for civilians was 18 August, when 112 were killed, including 92 at a wedding in Kabul.

The Taliban are estimated to be openly active across 70% of Afghanistan.

In June 2019, the country was named the least peaceful place in the world by the Global Peace Index report.

Both Taliban and Nato-backed Afghan forces are on the offensive now.

One Afghan government source said they were fighting harder than ever before as they pushed to recapture territory long held or recently taken by the Taliban.

More fighting means more civilian casualties.

Taliban negotiators in the Qatari capital Doha told us they had established an office to investigate such incidents.

On the government side, an office was set up six months ago by the national security adviser, Dr Hamdullah Mohib, who told us every incident was being investigated.

But as one village elder in Herat lamented: "We're coming under attack from both sides. What should we do?"