KABUL – A car bomb in eastern Afghanistan killed at least 12 people and wounded scores more Sunday, officials said, in a massive blast that came amid ongoing peace talks in Qatar.
Sunday’s suicide car bomb attack hit the eastern city of Ghazni and targeted an intelligence unit, according to Ghazni provincial governor spokesman Aref Noori.
Wahidullah Mayar, a health ministry spokesman, said 12 people had been killed.
Additionally, “179 people, mostly civilians including children, were wounded”, he added.
The number of wounded jumped up from an earlier toll of 70 and suggests a massive explosion.
The blast in a crowded area of Ghazni city was the latest in a wave of near-daily attacks by the Taliban, who now hold sway over about half of Afghanistan and continue to intensify attacks on Afghan forces despite increased US efforts towards a peace agreement to end the 18-year war.
The attack came hours before Taliban officials were to begin meeting a group of Afghan delegates in Qatar as part of diplomatic efforts to end years of violence and build trust between Afghan civilians and the militant group.
The Taliban, who have repeatedly refused to negotiate with the Western-backed government of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, agreed to join the intra-Afghan summit on the condition that those there would attend in a personal capacity.
About 60 high-profile Afghan figures and activists were in Doha to meet the Taliban officials during the two-day conference, a meeting arranged by German and Qatari officials with the support of US negotiators.
US and Taliban officials will reconvene on Tuesday.
The warring sides started a seventh round of peace talks last week, which US special envoy for peace in Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, described on Twitter on Saturday as the most productive session to date.
https://twitter.com/US4AfghanPeace/status/1147524459831746565
He said substantive progress had been made on all four parts of a peace deal: counter-terrorism assurances, troop withdrawal, participation in intra-Afghan negotiations, and a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire.
Military conflict and attacks on civilians have intensified even as the diplomatic process gains momentum, triggering tremendous unease among some Afghans about the significance of holding peace talks with the Taliban.
The Taliban took responsibility for detonating a car bomb at the start of a lengthy gun fight outside a defense ministry compound in the capital, Kabul, last week. Six people were killed and more than 100 civilians, including 60 children, were wounded in that attack.
