Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Dozens dead from blasts in Afghanistan

Feed: CNN.com - WORLD
Posted on: Tuesday, December 06, 2011 2:25 PM
Author: CNN.com - WORLD
Subject: Dozens dead from blasts in Afghanistan

Dozens of people are dead after explosions hit the Afghan cities of Kabul and Mazar-e Sharif on Tuesday, the Shiite holy day of Ashura, officials said.

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At least 58 dead from dual blasts in Afghanistan

From Masoud Popalzai and Nick Paton Walsh, CNN

December 6, 2011 -- Updated 1225 GMT (2025 HKT)

Video shows moment of Kabul blast

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

NEW: A Taliban spokesman said he condemns the attacks
A blast at a Kabul shrine kills 54 and injures 150
Another explosion in Mazar-e Sharif kills four civilians and injures 21
Both attacks take place on the Shiite holy day of Ashura

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- At least 58 people are dead after explosions hit the Afghan cities of Kabul and Mazar-e Sharif on Tuesday, the Shiite holy day of Ashura, officials said.

One attack occurred when a suicide bomber detonated a device at a Shiite shrine in Kabul, killing 54 people, Afghan Health Ministry spokesman Kargar Norughli said. Another 150 were injured.

Another four people were killed by another explosion in Mazar-e Sharif, the provincial capital of Afghanistan's northern Balkh province, police official Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai said. Another 21 were injured in that attack.

"The enemies tried to spread fear in this important holiday in the city," Ahmadzai said.

Ashura commemorates the martyrdom of Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. Hussein was killed in battle in Karbala, Iraq in 680, one of the events that helped create the schism between Sunnis and Shiites, the two main Muslim religious movements. Shiites are a minority presence in Afghanistan, which is predominantly Sunni.

Twin blasts kill dozens on holy day

The attacks came a day after Afghan President Hamid Karzai warned that the Taliban could make a comeback as the country struggles with security a decade after a U.S.-led coalition ousted the hardline militia from power.

"If we lose this fight, we are threatened with a return to a situation like that before September 11, 2001," Karazai told an international aid conference in Bonn, Germany.

Karzai said that though there had been progress over the past 10 years, stability remains a distant goal.

"Our shared goal of a stable, self-reliant Afghanistan is far from being achieved," he said.

In an e-mailed statement to journalists, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said he condemned the attacks. He accused NATO forces of playing a role in the attacks "to sow mistrust and hatred among Muslims so they can stay longer."

CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.