Bombing attack in Kandahar killed 11 people and wounded 17 others
The United Arab Emirates say five of its diplomats died in a bombing attack in Afghanistan’s Kandahar that killed at least 11 people and wounded 17 others, including Juma al-Kaabi, the UAE ambassador to Afghanistan. The official Emirates news agency, WAM, said the officials were “on a mission to carry out humanitarian, educational and development projects”. The blast, which struck the provincial governor’s office during a visit by the UAE delegation, was one of a string of bombings that hit three Afghan cities on Tuesday, killing nearly 50 people and wounding 100. On the Afghan side, authorities said the dead included two politicians, a deputy governor from Kandahar and an Afghan diplomat stationed at its embassy in Washington. The diplomats were expected to open a number of UAE-backed projects as part of an aid program to Afghanistan. The Taliban denied carrying out the bombing, saying the attack was a result of “internal local rivalry”.