Thousands of Afghans protest Taliban amid 4 blasts within day

KABUL, Jan 06 (NNI): Thousands of Afghan people including hundreds of women gathered in the northern Jowzjan province’s capital Sheberghan city, denounced Taliban outfit and announced their support to Afghan national security forces.

The provincial police chief Faqir Mohammad Jowzjani said the protest occurred as four blasts rocked several parts of the conflict-ridden country within one day, including the capital city of Kabul.

“Around 10,000 people including hundreds of women across the Jowzjan province assembled in Sheberghan city today condemning Taliban’s extremist policies and announced their support to Afghan national security forces,” Jowzjani told Xinhua.

The huge gathering against Taliban outfit took place just days after some 300 anti-government militants gave up fighting and joined the government-backed peace process in Jowzjan province.

A female teacher who introduced herself as Qamar was seen hold a gun.

“We want Taliban militants to give up fighting and lay down arms, otherwise, we are ready to fight against them,” Qamar told Xinhua.

Afghanistan witnessed four blasts including three suicide bombings on Monday, which claimed six lives including three suicide attackers.

The bloody one happened in Kabul when a suicide bomber blew up his explosive-laden car next to a vehicle of EUPOL Afghanistan ( European Union Police Mission in Afghanistan) leaving one person dead and injured more than 12 others, all of whom were civilians.

The bomber was also killed in the blast which occurred at around 01:30 p.m. local time, police said.

Another blast, believed to be remote-controlled, also hit Kabul on Monday morning but caused no loss of life, police said.

In the third blast which shocked the southern Zabul province at 10:00 a.m. local time, two civilians were killed while nine people wounded after a suicide car bomber targeted a police convoy in the provincial capital Qalat city, police said.

“The car bomb was detonated at around 10:00 a.m. close to the provincial police station. The likely target of the attack was deputy provincial police chief Gen. Ghulam Jilani Khan. Luckily Khan escaped unhurt,” the provincial police chief Gen. Ghulam Sakhi Rough Liwani told Xinhua.

Two civilian passersby died on the spot along with the attacker, the source said, adding, “those injured included four civilians and five policemen of the convoy.”

In the fourth blast which occurred in the eastern Nangarhar province, a “terrorist riding an explosive-borne car blew it up next to a convoy of foreign forces in Behsoud district on Torkham- Jalalabad road badly damaging an ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) vehicle but fortunately no one was hurt,” Nangarhar police spokesman Hazrat Hussian Mashriqiwal told reporters.

The attacker was killed in the blast, he added