Bomber kills 25 at funeral

A SUICIDE bomber killed at least 25 people and wounded dozens at a funeral in eastern Afghanistan yesterday, officials said.

A local chief and dozens of his relatives were at the ceremony in the Dur Baba district of Nangarhar province, near the Pakistan border, when a man detonated an explosive vest.

Dur Baba chief Haji Hamesha Gul was wounded in the attack.

“My brother saw the bomber and grabbed him just as he pushed the button, killing him and many others,” Mr Gul said from a hospital bed in Jalalabad, Nangarhar’s capital. The provincial governor’s spokesman, Ahmadzia Abdulzai, said the attack was aimed at Mr Gul and his supporters because they had recently opposed insurgents in the area. The funeral was for one of Mr Gul’s relatives.

“We have at least 25 innocent people martyred and around 65 others wounded,” Mr Abdulzai said. Nato also put the death toll at 25, but said more than 50 were people wounded.

Yesterday’s attack came days after 15 young men and two young women were beheaded in Helmand by Taleban fighters for holding a mixed-sex party.