UNAMA attributed 70 per cent of civilian casualties to “anti-government elements” including the Taliban.
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The device was reported to be transported in a water lorry filled with explosives, which stopped at the gate of the local police QRF compound in the city of Pol-e-Alam in Logar province early on 6 August.
The vast majority or 90 per cent of civilian casualties resulted from ground engagements, improvised explosive devices, complex and suicide attacks and targeted killings, according to the 2015 Mid-year Report on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, which was released today.
The force of the explosion damaged government buildings near the site, which was littered with debris and shards of broken glass. The aircraft carrying the officials landed safely, Seyal said.
It was the first attack conducted by Taliban militants after announcing death of their leader, Mullah Omar, on July 29.
The Taliban’s self-proclaimed spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the group took responsibility for the attack and claimed at least 100 policemen had been killed and wounded. The attack was carried out to target military and para military units.
The Taliban claimed they shot down the chopper with a rocket launcher, but the insurgents are known to exaggerate or falsify battlefield claims.
It came as an Afghan military helicopter crashed in the south, causing a number of casualties.
Din Mohammad Darwish, a spokesman for the governor of Logar province, said that those killed included three police officers and five civilians.
The figures highlight growing insecurity as the Taliban insurgency spreads north from its traditional southern and eastern strongholds, with Afghan forces facing their first summer fighting season without full NATO support.
US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organisation forces ended their combat mission in Afghanistan in December, but a 13,000-strong residual force remains for training and counter-terrorism operations. At one gathering on Wednesday, Mansour met Omar’s brother Mullah Abdul Manan and urged him to accept his leadership to ensure the unity of the movement, miltant sources told AFP.
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The constant internal rift and power struggle in the Taliban has impacted the ongoing peace process with Afghanistan.
