At least 18 people were killed in a suicide car bomb attack in Afghanistan’s Khost province on Saturday – the first day of Islam’s holy month of Ramadan, Al Jazeera reported. The Taliban has claimed the attack which took place at around 8.30 am on Saturday morning near a bus station and a football field close to a military base in Khost.
“The target of the attack was Afghan police and the United States forces, but most of the victims were civilians,” Mubariz Zadran, spokesperson for the governor of Khost province told Al Jazeera.
The target of the attack was the Khost Provincial Force which is estimated to have around 4,000 fighters operating against the Taliban along the Pakistan border.
Meanwhile, at least 22 militants, six officers and right civilians were killed in Badges on Saturday during clashes between the militants and security forces, reported Reuters. At least 50, including militants and civilians, were left injured in the firing.
The attack comes two days after at least 15 soldiers died in an attack by Taliban in Kandahar in Afghanistan. In the last one week, over 60 security personnel have lost their lives in the various attacks in the country. Last month, the Taliban had killed 140 military men near an Afghan military base in Mazar-e-Sharif.
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