Eight killed in Balkh explosion

At least eight people were killed when a bus, carrying employees of an oil company, was bombed in northern Balkh province, police said on Tuesday.

“Today around 7 a.m. a road side mine blast took place in District 3 of Mazar-e-Sharif city on a bus, which belonged to Hairatan Oil employees,” said Mohammad Asif Wazeri, police spokesman for northern Balkh province, adding that at least nine people were also wounded in the explosion.

But the public health of Balkh province is talking about the increase of victims.

Najibullah Tawana, head of Balkh public health, says that eight people were killed and nine wounded have been taken to hospital after today’s explosion. One person is critical, he said.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the blast.

This comes after at least six people were wounded in an explosion on Saturday in Nangarhar’s Jalalabad city that also caused serious damage to shops and businesses in the area.

One of the shops damaged in this explosion was that of Gul Charan – the city’s only Sikh resident.

According to local officials, the incident is being investigated. 

The security officials of Jalalabad meanwhile say the explosion was caused by an IED embedded in a flowerpot.

The residents of the city have called on the Islamic Emirate to prevent such events in the future.

So far, no group or individual has claimed responsibility for the explosion.