Suicide blast kills 19 in Jalalabad Eid truce

Afghan security personnel arrives at the site of suicide attack in the city of Jalalabad east of Kabul, Afghanistan, on June 11, 2018. (AP)

• Foreign media reported that Daesh had claimed responsibility for the two attacks

KABUL: A suicide attack at a celebration marking a short truce between the Afghan government and Taliban militants killed at least 19 people in the eastern city of Jalalabad on Sunday, the day after more than 30 people were killed in a similar strike.
The latest attack happened near the headquarters of the governor, in the heart of Jalalabad, where several hundred people, including civilians, Taliban fighters and government troops, were gathered to celebrate the bilateral truce observed for the Eid period.
“It was another suicide attack as people had gathered to celebrate the truce,” Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the governor said in a telephone interview. He said that more than 30 people had been wounded in the attack.
Foreign media reported that Daesh had claimed responsibility for the two attacks on Saturday and Sunday.
Early in the day, it was reported that the Taliban leadership had urged the foot soldiers to withdraw from the cities and towns they had entered days back as part of the truce in the face of Saturday’s attack.
On Saturday Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani offered to extend the truce with the Taliban and showed readiness to hold discussions with the group in the presence of the foreign troops in the country.
But today the militants declared that they were not prepared for the truce, which is set to expire late on Sunday local time, to be prolonged.