A bomb exploded in a parking lot in Kandahar, Afghanistan on Sunday, killing nine people. Five police officers were in the dead and 19 others were injured. The parking lot was outside of the local police building. The bomb was located in a parked vehicle and according to authorities, it was detonated remotely. The bomb was strong enough to shatter the windows of nearby buildings.
No one has claimed responsibility for the bombing yet, but it is likely that it was the Afghanistan Taliban. The police station is located near a very busy shopping district in Kandahar. There was gun fire reported immediately afterward, according to Shaedanoo Chowk, who lives in the area.
There were women and children among the dead and injured. The terrorist attack shows that the militant groups have no qualms about killing innocent civilians. The office of the president of Afghanistan said that the enemies of the country are showing their “enmity” towards the innocents in Afghanistan.
Over the years, the police station has been targeted many times in the last few years. The bloodshed and brutality in Kandahar has been increasing recently, as the Taliban continues to find new outlets for its violence. The Taliban movement began in Kandahar, which is the second largest city in Afghanistan.
The United Nations released a report yesterday that said the number of civilians killed in Afghanistan continues to rise, as it has for the last five years. Last year, there were 3,021 civilians killed compared to 2, 790 in 2010.
As the war in Afghanistan is slowing coming to a close, many wonder if the country’s security forces will be able to keep control. France has already announced that it is pulling out all of its troops except for training personnel and ground support. The United States is supposed to have their troops out by the end of 2014. Unfortunately, many civilians believe that the violence in the country from the Taliban will become unbearable once NATO forces leave.
