A mini-truck bomb detonated before a defense and military facility in Gardiz city, the capital of eastern Paktia province on Thursday, May 14, defense authorities said.
A mini-truck packed with explosives targeted a defense and military facility and left five people including an Afghan security force dead , said Aimal Mohmand, spokesman for the Afghan National Army’s 203 Thunder Corps, told Kabul Now.
The Afghan ministry of defense has confirmed that the car bomb wounded 24 civilians and five Afghan soldiers in eastern Paktia province.
The Taliban militants have claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement issued today, Thursday, May 14, the militant group have said that in response to President Ghani’s statement, they have targeted a military facility.
The attack came while yesterday evening President Ghani visited a maternity hospital which was targeted by unknown armed forces on Tuesday, May 12, in western Kabul. The attack left 24 civilians including newborn babies dead.
On the same day, in a separate attack, a suicide bomber killed 24 civilians in funeral ceremony of a former local police commander in a mosque in Khewa district of the eastern Nagarhar province. The attack left dozens wounded.
On Monday, May 11, deadly Taliban attacks killed 27 people, mostly pro-government forces in Laghman, Ghor, and Paktia provinces.
The Taliban attacks continue whereas the string of violence in Afghanistan were expected to reduce with a peace deal signed between the group and the US on February 29, in Doha, Qatar.
