/ 30 June 2004

Twin blasts hit Afghan city

Twenty-seven people, including children, were injured on Wednesday in two explosions that rocked a city in eastern Afghanistan, officials said.

The bombs hit shortly after 1pm local time in the eastern city of Jalalabad.

”There were two explosions, both at security posts,” provincial military corps official Agha Jan said.

One of the security posts was close to a crowded bus station, he said.

”There was one bomb explosion at Chapliyar bus station and the second one in a police post on the main road,” deputy police chief Abdul Rehman said.

”Twenty-seven people have been injured, there are no deaths up until now.”

The injured had been taken to hospital, he said.

The deputy director of Jalalabd city public health hospital, Dr Baz Mohammed Sherzad, confirmed the number of injuries, adding that eight people were in a critical condition.

”They are all civilians,” he said.

On Saturday, a bomb exploded inside a bus carrying female election workers to voter registration sites near Jalalabad city, killing two women and injuring 11 women and children.

Jalalabad is the main eastern city of Afghanistan and close to the border with Pakistan. — Sapa-AFP