KABUL (Reuters) – A series of bombings struck restaurants and public squares on Monday in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, wounding at least 34 people, officials said, as the country marked the 100th anniversary of its independence.
No group claimed responsibility for the 10 bombs but both Islamic State (IS) and the Taliban militants operate in the area.
IS claimed responsibility for a weekend bomb attack on a wedding reception in the capital, Kabul, in which 63 people were killed and nearly 200 wounded.
The Jalalabad bombs were planted near a market where hundreds of people had congregated after attending Independence Day events. Senior health official Fahim Bashari said at least 34 people were wounded.
President Ashraf Ghani, in an Independence Day address in Kabul, called on the international community to stand with Afghanistan to eradicate the militants’ “nests”.
“Our fight against the Daesh will continue,The Taliban have laid the foundation for such brutal killings.” he said, referring to IS.
Ghani did not refer in his speech to negotiations between the United States and the Taliban on a deal by which U.S. troops can withdraw in exchange for Taliban security guarantees.
The United States also wants a Taliban commitment on power-sharing talks with Ghani’s government and a ceasefire. The Taliban have refused to talk to the government.
But there are concerns among Afghan officials and U.S. national security aides about a U.S. withdrawal, with fears Afghanistan could be plunged into a new civil war that could herald a return of Taliban rule and international militants, including Islamic State, finding a refuge.
U.S. President Donald Trump is hoping to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan before the 2020 presidential election.
Trump on Sunday called the Kabul bomb attack horrible and expressed optimism about the talks. He said the United States would seek to get troop levels below 13,000 but leave “very significant” intelligence capabilities behind. The U.S. troops in Afghanistan train and advise Afghan security forces and conduct counterinsurgency operations.
The Taliban said in an Independence Day statement they were looking forward to the departure of all foreign forces. “The day approaches closer when these invaders shall completely leave our country, akin to the British and Soviets before them,” they said.
While never part of the British empire, Afghanistan gained complete independence from Britain on Aug. 19, 1919. Independence Day ceremonies in Kabul were curtailed out of respect for those who died in the Saturday night bomb, the government said.
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