April 30 2021 At least 25 people were killed and more than 60 others injured in a car bomb attack in the provincial capital of Pul Alam that night, officials in Afghanistan’s eastern Lugar province said Wednesday.
Lugar provincial council president Hasib Stanikzai said that at 7:06 p.m. on the 30th, a car loaded with explosives was detonated near a hotel in Pul Alam, where many students preparing to take next week’s college entrance exam, as well as some members of the security forces, were staying at the hotel. The blast killed at least 25 people and injured more than 60 others, toppled the hotel and severely damaged buildings at a nearby hospital.
Afghan Public Health Ministry spokesman Dastyari Nazari said the Afghan government from the capital Kabul sent dozens of ambulances to Pul Alam, 60 kilometers away, to help with the rescue.
A source, speaking to Xinhua on condition of anonymity, said the death toll could rise because many people were seriously injured.
No group or individual has yet claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Qatar in September 2020 have been slow because of deep differences. Taliban militants frequently attack Afghan troops, police, officials and government agencies, and the government has not relaxed its fight against the Taliban.
