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Suicide bombing kills 80 outside Kandahar city
Updated Sun. Feb. 17 2008 8:07 AM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
Afghanistan has suffered what may be its deadliest terror attack since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.
A suicide bomber attacked an outdoor dogfighting competition on the outskirts of Kandahar on Sunday, leaving 80 people dead and another 90 wounded.
The main target is believed to have been Abdul Hakim Jan, a local militia leader.
Khalid Pashtun, a parliamentarian, said Jan had served as provincial police chief in Kandahar in the early 1990s and was the only commander in the province to oppose the Taliban during its rule.
"Hakim Jan is one of the important, prominent jihadi commanders in Kandahar," Pashtun said. "There were so many people gathered and of course the Taliban and al Qaeda usually target this kind of important people."
Kandahar resident Faizullah Qari Gar, who was at the dog fight, said Jan's bodyguards started shooting after the bombing.
"In my mind there were no Taliban to attack after the blast but the bodyguards were shooting anyway," he said.
Dog fights are popular in Afghanistan and routinely draw crowds in the hundreds, who circle around the animals.
While suicide attacks have been on the rise in Afghanistan, with more than 140 recorded in 2007, they usually aren't so deadly.
The previous worst bombing came in the northern city of Baghlan in November. There, a combination of suicide bombing and gunfire from bodyguards left about 70 people dead, including six parliamentarians and 58 students and teachers there to greet them.
With files from The Associated Press
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080217/afghan_blast_080217/20080217?hub=TopStories
Updated Sun. Feb. 17 2008 8:07 AM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
Afghanistan has suffered what may be its deadliest terror attack since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.
A suicide bomber attacked an outdoor dogfighting competition on the outskirts of Kandahar on Sunday, leaving 80 people dead and another 90 wounded.
The main target is believed to have been Abdul Hakim Jan, a local militia leader.
Khalid Pashtun, a parliamentarian, said Jan had served as provincial police chief in Kandahar in the early 1990s and was the only commander in the province to oppose the Taliban during its rule.
"Hakim Jan is one of the important, prominent jihadi commanders in Kandahar," Pashtun said. "There were so many people gathered and of course the Taliban and al Qaeda usually target this kind of important people."
Kandahar resident Faizullah Qari Gar, who was at the dog fight, said Jan's bodyguards started shooting after the bombing.
"In my mind there were no Taliban to attack after the blast but the bodyguards were shooting anyway," he said.
Dog fights are popular in Afghanistan and routinely draw crowds in the hundreds, who circle around the animals.
While suicide attacks have been on the rise in Afghanistan, with more than 140 recorded in 2007, they usually aren't so deadly.
The previous worst bombing came in the northern city of Baghlan in November. There, a combination of suicide bombing and gunfire from bodyguards left about 70 people dead, including six parliamentarians and 58 students and teachers there to greet them.
With files from The Associated Press
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080217/afghan_blast_080217/20080217?hub=TopStories