KABUL: Three suicide bombers attacked a parking lot at a police base in eastern Afghanistan, killing a guard and setting 25 trucks ablaze, an Afghan provincial official said on Monday.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but the Taliban have recently staged a series of high-profile bombings ahead of the June 14 runoff in the country’s presidential election.
The attack on the police base in eastern Behsud district took place late Sunday, said Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, the spokesman for the provincial governor of Nangarhar province.
A suicide car bomber first blew himself up by detonating his vehicle at the entrance to the parking lot. Two other attackers then stormed in, shooting at the security forces.
The police killed both attackers but at least 25 fuel tankers and logistic trucks caught on fire and were burnt during the fighting, Abdulzai said. Officials are concerned there could be more violence ahead of the balloting on Saturday, though the first round of the election on April 5 passed relatively peacefully.
Last Friday, Abdullah Abdullah — the front-runner in the election — narrowly escaped assassination when two suicide boomers attacked his convoy during a campaign event in the capital.
At least 10 people, including three in Abdullah’s entourage, were killed and dozens were wounded in the attack, which heavily damaged the front of Abdullah’s armoured car, destroyed several vehicles and storefronts and left the street littered with twisted metal and other rubble.
No one has claimed responsibility for that attack either.
Abdullah is facing off against former Finance Minister Ashraf Gani Ahmadzai. In the initial balloting, he garnered 45 per cent of the votes while Ahmadzai came in second with 31.6 per cent.
