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| Afghan men assist those injured in a bomb blast as they arrive at a hospital in Jalalabad September 4, 2012. REUTERS/ Parwiz |
A local district chief and dozens of his relatives were at the ceremony in the Dur Baba district of Nangarhar province, near the Pakistan border, when a man detonated a vest he was wearing packed with explosives, the officials said.
They said Dur Baba district chief Haji Hamesha Gul, who was wounded in the attack, was probably the main target.
"My brother saw the bomber and grabbed him just as he pushed the button, killing him and many others," Gul told Reuters from a hospital bed in Jalalabad, Nangarhar's capital.
Khan Mohammad, also in hospital in Jalalabad after being wounded in the attack, said: "I was at the graveyard just putting the dead body inside the tomb when I heard a loud explosion. Many people were screaming and crying for help."
The provincial governor's spokesman, Ahmadzia Abdulzai, said the attack was aimed at Gul and his supporters because they had recently opposed insurgents in the area. The funeral was for one of Gul's relatives.
"We have at least 25 innocent people martyred and around 65 others wounded," Abdulzai said. NATO also put the death toll at 25, but said more than 50 were people wounded.
The Interior Ministry blamed Taliban insurgents for the bombing.
President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack and offered his condolences to the victims' families, he said in a statement.
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(Additional Reporting by Mirwais Harooni in Kabul Writing by Hamid Shalizi; Editing by Pravin Char)
read more at REUTERS
By Rafiq Sherzad
JALALABAD, Afghanistan | Tue Sep 4, 2012 5:21pm BST
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ISAF Regional Command East release:
BAGRAM, Afghanistan – A suicide bomber attacked a funeral in Dur Baba district, Nangarhar province, killing 25 Afghan civilians and wounding more than 50 this afternoon, according to reports from Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan officials.
Gul Agha Shirzai, the Nangarhar provincial governor, condemned the suicide attack as cowardly and offered his sympathies and condolences to the families of the victims.
“Insurgents with no respect for the lives of innocent civilians, in an action totally against Islamic values, killed and wounded many Afghans at a funeral ceremony today,” Shirzai said.
Afghan National Security Forces and ISAF medics responded to the incident, securing the area and providing medical care to the wounded.
The son of Hamisha Gul, the Dur Baba district governor, is among those who were killed. The district governor was wounded. Reports indicate that the wounds are minor.
Shirzai said he has ordered his security officials to launch an immediate investigation into the incident to bring the perpetrator or perpetrators of the “horrific action” to justice.
Despite the efforts of the enemies of the Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, ISAF forces in eastern Afghanistan remain committed to partnering with their Afghan National Security Forces counterparts to secure a stable and prosperous future for the Afghan people.
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