By Shadi Khan Saif
KABUL, Afghanistan (AA): A massive car bombing in the southeast of Afghanistan targeting a local security officer killed at least four people, an official and local media confirmed on Sunday after a spate of terrorist attacks across the country in the last one week.
The incident took place in Gardez city, capital of Paktia province, located at a distance of less than 150 kilometers (93.2 miles) from the Afghan capital Kabul.
Deputy Governor Abdul Wali told Anadolu Agency that a commander of the pro-government local security force, Aziz Ahmad, was the target in this IED attack. He confirmed Ahmad was killed and his driver injured in this attack.
According to the local Salam Afghanistan radio, a total of four people were killed in this attack, close to the regional public hospital in Gardez.
There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
This attack came on the heels of an evident escalation of fighting across the country as the U.S. and Taliban are set to resume peace talks in Doha, Qatar later this month.
Seven people, including four policemen, were killed and 24 injured in twin terrorist attacks, including a suicide bombing in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday morning.
An IED blast inches away from the main entrance of Kabul University in the Afghan capital on Friday morning killed eight people and injured more than 30, officials confirmed.
Earlier, a massive suicide car bombing followed by gunfight at the police headquarters on Thursday killed at least nine people in Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar province.
Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Yousef Al-Othaimeen, in a statement on Sunday expressed deep concern over the recent surge in violence and indiscriminate suicide attacks in Afghanistan. He said that he considers any act of violence deplorable and urged to bring an end to this senseless cycle of violence.
[Photo: Afghan security officials inspect the scene of a bomb blast near the University of Afghanistan in Kabul, Afghanistan on July 19, 2019. Photographer: Haroon Sabawoon/AA]