89 slain in blast at Afghan market

In deadliest attack since 2001, car blows up at bustling area

Afghan security forces and civilians examine the scene of a suicide attack in the Urgun area of Paktika province, Afghanistan, on Tuesday. The attack killed at least 89 people.
Afghan security forces and civilians examine the scene of a suicide attack in the Urgun area of Paktika province, Afghanistan, on Tuesday. The attack killed at least 89 people.

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A suicide bomber blew up a car packed with explosives near a busy market and a mosque Tuesday in eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 89 people in the deadliest insurgent attack on civilians since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion.

The explosion destroyed dozens of mud-brick shops, flipped cars and stripped trees of their branches, underscoring the country's instability as U.S. troops prepare to leave by the end of the year and politicians in Kabul struggle for power after a disputed presidential runoff.

Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, the Defense Ministry spokesman, said the bomber detonated his explosives as he drove by the crowded market in a remote town in Urgun district in Paktika province bordering Pakistan.

Azimi gave the death toll and said more than 40 other people were wounded. The military supplied helicopters and ambulances to take the victims to the hospital, he said, adding that the explosion destroyed more than 20 shops and dozens of vehicles.

Many of the victims were buried under the rubble, said Mohammad Reza Kharoti, administrative chief of Urgun district.

"It was a very brutal suicide attack against poor civilians," he said. "There was no military base nearby."

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, and the Taliban issued a statement denying involvement, saying they "strongly condemn attacks on local people." Several other insurgent groups operate in Afghanistan.

The United Nations mission in Afghanistan said initial reports "suggest that the attacker prematurely detonated after police detected the explosives in his vehicle."

"Today's appalling attack during Ramadan -- an occasion that should be observed in a spirit of peace and compassion -- should be condemned in the strongest possible terms, and the perpetrators must be held accountable," said Jan Kubis, the U.N. representative to Afghanistan.

It was the deadliest insurgent attack against civilians since violence rose after the U.S. invasion that ousted the Taliban in 2001. It exceeded the toll of twin bombings on Dec. 6, 2011, that targeted Shiite Muslims and killed 80 people in Kabul and Mazar-i-Sharif.

It also was the first major attack since a weekend deal between the two Afghan presidential contenders, brokered by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, averted a dangerous rift in the country's troubled democracy after last month's disputed runoff.

"People were shocked, and we are shocked, but this is the sad reality of Afghanistan," one of the candidates, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, said.

Unofficial results from the runoff showed former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai well in the lead, but Abdullah's supporters say that is only because of widespread fraud.

Since fraud was alleged on both sides, the deal provides that every one of the 8 million ballots will be audited under national and international supervision over the next three or four weeks.

Neither the election nor the weekend deal has had any visible effect on security in the country, which has long seen near-daily attacks.

The United Nations said last week that civilian deaths are up 17 percent in the first six months of the year compared with the same period in 2013, with 1,564 civilians killed from January through June.

Hours before the Paktika blast, a roadside bomb in Kabul ripped through a minivan carrying seven employees of the media office of the presidential palace, killing two of the passengers. The Taliban claimed responsibility.

Also, seven police officers, including a district counterterrorism director, and six border guards were killed when Taliban insurgents attacked a post on the border with Pakistan in the eastern Khost province, said Mubariz Mohammad Zadran, spokesman for the provincial governor.

Zadran said the attack set off an hours-long gunbattle that left 34 insurgents and a local man dead. "The majority of the insurgents killed in the clash are Pakistani citizens," Zadran said.

Elsewhere in the country, two police officers were killed by a bomb concealed on a parked motorbike inside the southern city of Kandahar, said Zia Durani, spokesman for the Kandahar police chief.

Roadside bombings have escalated as the Taliban intensify their campaign ahead of the planned withdrawal of U.S.-led foreign forces.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's military said Tuesday that it has begun a ground offensive against local and foreign militants in a second key insurgent stronghold near the Afghan border, as authorities rushed aid to more than 800,000 people who fled the northwestern tribal region for safety.

The army spokesman, Gen. Asim Saleem Bajwa, said government forces moved in the town of Mir Ali on Monday, triggering a gunbattle in which three soldiers and seven militants were killed.

Information for this article was contributed by Munir Ahmed and Zaheer Babar of The Associated Press.

A Section on 07/16/2014

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