KANDAHAR (AFP) – A suicide bombing killed three people and wounded 12 others yesterday in the Afghan city of Kandahar, a provincial official said, the heartland of the Taleban authorities that rule the country.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, and while multiple explosions have been reported around the country since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadhan on March 11, few have been confirmed by Taleban officials.
Afghanistan’s capital is Kabul but Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada lives in Kandahar city, for decades the stronghold of the Taleban movement.
“A suicide attack occurred in which three compatriots were killed and 12 others were wounded, according to preliminary information,” said director of information and culture of Kandahar province Inamullah Samangani.
The explosion at around 8am targeted a group of people waiting outside the New Kabul Bank branch in central Kandahar city.
“Commonly our compatriots gather there to collect their salaries,” Samangani told AFP, adding that the “victims were civilians”.
Taleban authorities had surrounded the area outside the bank and did not let journalists close to the site.
However, an AFP journalist saw what appeared to be unconscious people or dead bodies being loaded into ambulances.
