Suicide bomber kills 33 outside Afghan bank

JALALABAD, Afghanistan, April 18 (AFP) -A suicide bomber killed at least 33 people and wounded 100 others in an attack Saturday outside a bank in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, according to officials.

“Thirty-three dead bodies and more than 100 wounded were brought to the hospital,” Dr Najeebullah Kamawal, head of the provincial hospital, told AFP.

Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, provincial government spokesman, confirmed the attack -- the deadliest since November -- but put the death toll slightly lower at 30.

“The explosion happened outside the bank when government employees and civilians were collecting their monthly salaries,” he told AFP.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani strongly condemned the attack, which saw children among those killed, his office said in a statement.

“Carrying out terrorist attacks in cities and public places are the most cowardly acts of terror by terrorists targeting innocent civilians,” President Ghani said.

The scene of the attack showed the gruesome scale of the carnage with people lying in pools of blood and body parts scattered across the ground.

The bombing comes as Afghanistan braces for what is expected to be a bloody push by the Taliban at the start of the fighting season.

However, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied responsibility.

The militants have stepped up attacks on government and foreign targets since Washington backpedalled on plans to shrink the US force in Afghanistan this year by nearly half.

On April 10, a suicide car bomber killed three civilians in an attack targeting a NATO convoy in Jalalabad.

In the remote mountainous northeast province of Badakhshan, Taliban fighters killed 18 Afghan soldiers -including some who were beheaded -- after storming an army outpost a week ago.

The pre-dawn raid in the Jurm district of Badakhshan province on April 10 marked a grim setback for Afghan forces, set to face their first fighting season in which they battle insurgents without full NATO support.