Kandahar blast kills 4, injures at least 22 in Afghanistan

GlobalPost

A bomb blast hit a busy market in Kandahar Monday killing four civilians and injuring at least 22 more, officials said.

"The explosives hidden in a hand-cart in a crowded bazaar in Kandahar city, detonated at 9:00 a.m. (local time)," said Javed Faisal, spokesman for the governor of Afghanistan's Kandahar province.

"It is not clear yet how the explosives blew up, but a remote-control device has been found in the pocket of a dead person," he added.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The attack came during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and ahead of the planned drawdown of international forces, as Afghan forces take over the country's security.

On Saturday nine civilians were killed — some of them children — and 22 more were injured in a suicide bombing near the Indian consulate in Jalalabad.

Both attacks follow the widespread temporary closure of US diplomatic missions, mostly in the Middle East and North Africa, and a worldwide travel warning to Americans abroad. US officials claim they have detected a serious but unspecified threat related to Al Qaeda.  

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