- Title: Taliban truck bomb kills at least 20 in southern Afghanistan
- Date: 19th September 2019
- Summary: KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN (SEPTEMBER 19, 2019) (REUTERS) VICTIM OF THE ATTACK BEING CARRIED ON STRETCHER IN HOSPITAL CORRIDOR MEDICS WHEELING VICTIM INTO WARD VARIOUS OF MEDICS TENDING TO WOUNDED MAN WOUNDED MEN LYING DOWN ON HOSPITAL BEDS VICTIM'S BANDAGED LEGS VARIOUS OF VICTIM BREATHING THROUGH OXYGEN MASK ATTACK VICTIM ANAR GUL (SOUNDBITE) (Pashto) ATTACK VICTIM, ANAR GUL, SAYING: "I was working in our office which is located near the hospital and it was early morning when the blast occurred. I don't know what happened next. My colleague and myself were injured and the hospital building was completely damaged. A lot of people were injured in this incident." MORE OF WOUNDED (SOUNDBITE) (Pashto) HEAD OF MIRWAIS REGIONAL HOSPITAL, NEMATULLAH BAREKZAI, SAYING: "As you can see, so far we have received one martyred (victim) and 27 wounded people, including three women and two children." MORE OF WOUNDED EXTERIOR OF MIRWAIS REGIONAL HOSPITAL / VICTIMS' RELATIVES AND PEOPLE WALKING AROUND
- Embargoed: 3rd October 2019 10:48
- Keywords: Aghanistan blast Zabul province Kandahar bomb Taliban victims Qalat hospital
- Location: KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN
- City: KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN
- Country: Afghanistan
- Topics: Bombing (non-military),Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA001AXBN51J
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A Taliban truck bomb killed at least 20 people and wounded 95 when it exploded near a hospital in southern Afghanistan on Thursday (September 19), a provincial official said, with casualties expected to rise as rescuers sift the rubble.
Some of wounded people who were taken to Kandahar Hospital for treatment said the blast occurred in the early morning.
The Taliban, who have been carrying out nearly daily attacks since the collapse of peace talks with the United States this month, said the target was a nearby building of the government's intelligence department in Qalat, the capital of Zabul province.
The militants wanted to target a training base for Afghanistan's powerful National Directorate of Security but parked the vehicle laden with explosives outside a hospital gate nearby, said another defence ministry source.
Twenty bodies and 95 wounded people have been evacuated from the blast site, said Haji Atta Jan Haqbayan, a member of the provincial council in Qalat.
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