Bombers strike Afghanistan police base, kill guard

Kabul, Afghanistan. ShutterStock image

KABUL, Afghanistan — Three suicide bombers attacked a parking lot at a police base in eastern Afghanistan, killing a guard and setting 25 trucks ablaze, an Afghan provincial official said Monday.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but the Taliban recently have staged a series of high-profile bombings ahead of the June 14 runoff in the country’s presidential election.

The attack on the police base in eastern Behsud district took place late Sunday, said Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, the spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province.

A suicide car bomber first blew himself up by detonating his vehicle at the entrance to the parking lot, then two other attackers then stormed in, shooting at the security forces, he said.

The police killed both attackers but at least 25 fuel tankers and logistic trucks caught on fire during the fighting, Abdulzai said.

Meanwhile Monday, a group of suicide bombers stormed a court building in eastern Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, Abdulzai said.

Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry said in a statement that a suicide bomber attacked the building’s entrance, allowing three other attackers to get inside.

“All three attackers were shot and killed by police forces before they were able to detonate their suicide vests,” the statement said.

The attack wounded four people, including three civilians and one police officer, the statement said.

Officials are concerned there could be more violence ahead of voting in the presidential runoff Saturday, though the first round April 5 passed relatively peacefully.

Last Friday, Abdullah Abdullah — the front-runner in the election — narrowly escaped assassination when two suicide boomers attacked his convoy during a campaign event in the capital, Kabul.

The blast killed at least 10 people, including three in Abdullah’s entourage, and wounded dozens. The attack heavily damaged the front of Abdullah’s armored car, destroyed several vehicles and storefronts and left the street littered with twisted metal and other rubble.

No one has claimed responsibility for that attack either.

Abdullah is facing off against former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai. In the initial balloting, he got 45 percent of the votes while Ahmadzai came in second with 31.6 percent.