A massive suicide car bomb ripped through a bustling area of Afghanistan's troubled southern city of Kandahar, killing up to 36 people and wounding another 64 late Tuesday (25 August), officials said.
"So far we have 36 killed and 64 wounded and they are all civilians," said General Ghulam Ali Wahdad, police commander for southern Afghanistan. "At this stage we cannot break down the casualties in terms of how many women, children and men. Police are still busy trying to find bodies from under the rubble," he added.
The bomb went off in a usually congested street near a complex with a wedding hall, shops and hotel rooms. The force of the explosion heavily damaged buildings and trapped people under the rubble, officials said.
Witnesses said they heard a huge explosion. A police officer at the site said the Spozmai wedding hall was on fire, adding: "Two houses in the area have partially collapsed and people are busy looking for anyone stuck under the rubble."
Meanwhile, four more US servicemen were killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan on Tuesday, making 2009 the deadliest year for the growing contingent of foreign troops since the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001. The deaths highlighted the steadily worsening violence in the country, which has been in political limbo since a disputed presidential election last week.
The soldiers operating under NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were killed by an improvised bomb, the Taliban's weapon of choice, in southern Afghanistan, the alliance force said.
The latest casualties bring to 63 the number of foreign soldiers who have died in Afghanistan this month, and to 295 the death toll since January, making this year the deadliest for foreign troops since their 2001 arrival here.
Ballots still counted, run-off expected
Afghan President Hamid Karzai held a slender lead over challenger Abdullah Abdullah on Tuesday with around 10% of the votes from last week's election officially tallied, the country's election commission said.
The partial result had Karzai with 41% of votes compared with Abdullah's 39%, based on ballot boxes received so far from Afghanistan's 34 provinces.
No ballot boxes have been received from eight provinces, meaning the partial count is by no means a balanced reflection of the overall poll.
The figures released do not include many provinces in the south and east, the Pasthun heartland from where Karzai draws much of his support.
From Kandahar, for instance, Karzai's home province, the IEC has so far counted just under 2% of votes cast. In neighbouring Helmand province, where thousands of US and British soldiers have been fighting Taliban insurgents, no votes have been counted at all.
Other provinces such as Logar and Ghazni, which border Kabul and are likely to vote in Karzai's favour, were also poorly represented in the partial count amid rising violence.
Votes from such places could boost Karzai's chances as the counting goes on. Compared with Karzai, there are fewer provinces left to count where Abdullah is likely to lead. But, because insecurity is more rife in provinces in the south and southeast where Karzai is likely to lead, the incumbent should still be prepared for a second round.
(EurActiv with Reuters.)
