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03/29/2024 01:54:41 am

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Suicide Bomber Kills 45 at Volleyball Match in Afghanistan

Afghanistan suicide bombing

Afghan security forces inspect at the site of a Taliban attack in Kabul November 19, 2014. On Sunday, a suicide bomber killed at least 45 people at a volleyball tournament in eastern Afghanistan. REUTERS/ Omar Sobhani

Suicide Bomber Kills 45 at Volleyball Match in Afghanistan

Officials say at least 45 people were confirmed dead when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a volleyball tournament in eastern Afghanistan.

BBC reported that the attacker had detonated the bomb amid a crowd of Afghan volleyball enthusiasts who gathered for a game. At least 60 others were also injured in the suicide bombing that occurred in Yahyakhai district.

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Mokhis Afgha, the spokesman for the governor of Paktika province, said the suicide bomber was on foot and managed to mingle with the crowd before he detonated the bomb on Sunday.

The tournament, an inter-district volleyball competition, was attended by large crowd, sketchy reports said.

"There were too many people gathered in the one place to watch the game. Dozens of others are wounded and we have reports that many of them are in critical condition," Afgha said.

He also called on the central Afghan government to immediately sent medical assistance in Yahyakhail in order to transfer wounded persons to the country's capital, Kabul, for immediate treatment.

Yahyakhail is situated in Paktika, which borders Pakistan.

The suicide bombing on Sunday is one of the deadliest attacks in Afghanistan so far this year, as attacks continue to escalate in other areas.

President Barack Obama, who administration led the war against the Taliban, earlier announced that all American troops will be pulled out of Afghanistan by the end of 2016.

International troops will remain in the country past the end of this year after the US and NATO signed agreements with the Afghan parliament to keep the troops for a year.

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