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Over 100 die in Afghanistan blast
18/02/2008 12:13 - (SA)
Kandahar - The number of people killed in Afghanistan's deadliest suicide attack has passed 100, a provincial governor said on Monday.
Kandahar governor, Asadullah Khalid's previous toll for the attack on Monday at a dog fighting match on the outskirts of Kandahar city was around 80.
The official told a gathering of mourners on Monday that 80 bodies were taken to local hospitals and more than 20 others were taken directly to their homes by relatives.
"The latest information we have now is that the number of deaths is over 100," he confirmed to AFP afterwards.
Khalid said the toll could still rise as several of the more than 100 wounded people were in a critical condition.
The national health ministry said that meanwhile hospitals had registered 72 dead and 75 wounded.
"Most of the casualties are young people and there are four children among the wounded," ministry spokesperson Abdullah Fahim told AFP.
The attack was the deadliest in Afghanistan since the hard-line Taliban were forced out of government in late 2001 and started an insurgency characterised by suicide blasts and roadside bombings.
- AFP
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