In a horrific attack that took place in Afghanistan, dozens of passengers have been killed. The attack took place on a bus that was carrying dozens of passengers primarily women and children when the bomb blast took place.
This was a passenger bus travelling on the Kandahar-Herat highway. It has been reported that 28 people have lost their lives and 10 have been severely wounded in the attack. It is expected that the toll of the dead may increase with time and that all those who suffered the attack were ordinary civilians. The Taliban has not issued any conformation that it is behind the attack.
It is to be acknowledged that this attack came just one day after the United Nations stated that civilians were being killed due to terrorist attacks at a shocking level in Afghanistan despite the fact that attempts were being made to bring the 18-year old conflict to an end.
The UN branded the efforts to reduce violence in Afghanistan as insufficient and said that although the numbers had decreased since last year, they were in no way sufficient. It is also argued by many critics that US and pro-government agencies have led to more deaths of civilians and furthered the cause of violence in Afghanistan as compared to attacks by the Taliban and various other insurgent groups.
Out of the total number of people who have died due to such attacks, one-third are constituted of children. This blood-shed comes amidst the long push by the US to forge a peace deal with the Taliban. The deal carries provisions for all foreign forces to quit Afghanistan’s territory in return for various security guarantees.
