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Bomber kills 21, mostly Taliban celebrating truce in Afghanistan

KABUL - A suicide bomber blew himself up in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday as mostly Taliban fighters gathered to celebrate a three-day cease fire marking the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr, killing 21 people and wounding another 41, said the Nangarhar provincial Police Chief Ghulam Sanayee Stanikzai. Most of the dead and wounded were believed to be Taliban, he said.

  

Within hours of the explosion President Ashraf Ghani announced he would extend a four-day cease-fire that he had unilaterally announced last week. The cease-fire was to end at the conclusion of the Eid holiday, which follows the monthlong fasting month of Ramadan.

 

Ghani offered no details of the extension, including how long it would be in effect. The Taliban's leader, Haibatullah Akhunzada, on Monday separately announced a three-day truce to mark the Eid holiday. The Taliban cease-fire took effect at midnight on Thursday.

 

 


פרסום ראשון: 06.16.18, 18:36