Suicide bomber kills 25 at Afghan funeral
05 September, 2012
JALALABAD: A suicide bomber killed at least 25 people and injured dozens at a funeral in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, officials said, the latest large-scale attack on civilians.
A local district chief and dozens of his relatives were at the ceremony in the Dur Baba District of Nangarhar province, near the Pakistan border, when a man detonated a vest he was wearing packed with explosives, the officials said. Officials said Dur Baba District Chief Haji Hamesha Gul, who was injured in the attack, was probably the main target.
"My brother saw the bomber and grabbed him just as he pushed the button, killing him and many others," Gul told Reuters from a hospital bed in Jalalabad, Nangarhar's capital. Khan Muhammad, also in hospital in Jalalabad after being injured in the attack, said, "I was at the graveyard just putting the dead body inside the grave when I heard a loud explosion. Many people were screaming and crying for help."
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