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| At least 21 die in attacks in Kabul, other parts of Afghanistan | At least 21 die in attacks in Kabul, other parts of Afghanistan |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| FAIZABAD, Afghanistan — Multiple attacks killed at least 21 people in this war-torn country, including two NATO service members, six Afghan soldiers and a senior officer of the nation’s highest court, Afghan officials said Saturday. | |
| They were the latest in a spate of assaults that have sparked new security concerns and placed Afghans and foreigners on edge, as most U.S. and international troops are prepared to leave in less than three weeks. | |
| Atiqullah Raufi, the head of the Supreme Court’s secretariat, died after gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire as he left his house in the Afghan capital for work Saturday morning, killing him instantly, said Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai. The attack came hours after a roadside bombing Friday night tore through a NATO convoy near Bagram military base, north of the capital, killing the two service members. | |
| The Taliban Islamist insurgency claimed responsibility for both attacks. | The Taliban Islamist insurgency claimed responsibility for both attacks. |
| Late afternoon Saturday, gunmen — again on motorbikes — shot dead 12 workers clearing unexploded mines in volatile southern Helmand province. The carnage unfolded near Camp Bastion, a former British base that was handed over to Afghan control in October. Afghan forces later clashed with the gunmen, killing three and arresting four, said Omer Zowak, a spokesman for the provincial governor's office. No group has taken responsibility for that massacre. | Late afternoon Saturday, gunmen — again on motorbikes — shot dead 12 workers clearing unexploded mines in volatile southern Helmand province. The carnage unfolded near Camp Bastion, a former British base that was handed over to Afghan control in October. Afghan forces later clashed with the gunmen, killing three and arresting four, said Omer Zowak, a spokesman for the provincial governor's office. No group has taken responsibility for that massacre. |
| By nightfall, the death toll rose again when a suicide bomber blew himself up next to a bus carrying Afghan soldiers in Kabul, killing six people and wounding more than 10, including a young girl, Stanikzai said. | |
| “I heard a huge explosion,” said Najibullah Wardakm 45, a mechanic who witnessed the bombing. “The army bus, which was a few yard away, got on fire. I saw army officers jumping from the windows.” | “I heard a huge explosion,” said Najibullah Wardakm 45, a mechanic who witnessed the bombing. “The army bus, which was a few yard away, got on fire. I saw army officers jumping from the windows.” |
| Saturday’s bloodshed came two days after a teenage suicide bomber sneaked past security guards at an elite French-run school and blew himself up in the middle of an audience watching a play about nonviolence and democracy. One person, a German citizen, was killed, and more than 20 were injured. Earlier that day, a suicide bomber targeted another minibus carrying Afghan soldiers, killing six and wounding 14. | |
| Other attacks in recent weeks have killed a foreign aid worker and his two teenage children, a British Embassy worker and two American soldiers. The Taliban also tried to assassinate Kabul’s former police chief and an outspoken women’s rights activist, and have stormed compounds inhabited by foreign contractors. | Other attacks in recent weeks have killed a foreign aid worker and his two teenage children, a British Embassy worker and two American soldiers. The Taliban also tried to assassinate Kabul’s former police chief and an outspoken women’s rights activist, and have stormed compounds inhabited by foreign contractors. |
| The barrage of violence has convinced many foreigners and affluent Afghans to temporarily leave the country or make exit plans if the violence worsens. | The barrage of violence has convinced many foreigners and affluent Afghans to temporarily leave the country or make exit plans if the violence worsens. |
| “What is going on in this country?” Wardakm asked. “No one is safe anymore. The Taliban are targeting schools, playgrounds, mosques, roads. I do not know what will happen to this country." | |
| Mohammad Sharif in Faizabad contributed to this report. | Mohammad Sharif in Faizabad contributed to this report. |