Suicide Attack Kills Afghan Deputy Governor
VOA News
28 September 2010
Afghan police say a suicide bomber has killed a top provincial official and at least five other people in eastern Afghanistan.
Tuesday's attack killed the deputy governor of Ghazni province, Mohammad Kazim Allahyar, as well as his adult son, nephew and a guard. Two nearby civilians also were killed.
Police say the bomber, on a motorized rickshaw, struck the deputy governor's vehicle as it traveled toward Allahyar's office in Ghazni city. The explosion also wounded at least eight people.
In an emotional speech in Kabul, President Hamid Karzai decried such violence and said he worries it will force young Afghans to leave the country. He broke into tears at one point, and said he does not want his son, Mirwais, to become a foreigner.
The speech was about education in Afghanistan, and Mr. Karzai said children cannot go to school because of the threat of bombs and suicide attacks.
Ghazni is on the main road between Kabul and Kandahar, and is regularly hit by insurgent attacks.
Also Tuesday, the president's office said Afghan officials are investigating reports of civilian deaths during a NATO operation in the eastern province of Laghman.
NATO says more than 250 Afghan and foreign forces battled insurgents in Laghman, killing 30 militants on Saturday. The coalition said at the time that there were no reports of civilian casualties.
On Monday, NATO said it was probing the killing of an Afghan civilian by a coalition service member in Laghman the day before. But it gave no details.
Civilian casualties resulting from NATO operations have been a major source of tension between the Afghan government and members of the alliance.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
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