Afghans Mourn for Bombing Victims - Scores Died in Explosion Sunday in Paktika Province

YAHYAKHIL, Afghanistan—Afghans mourned the death of dozens of civilians in a bombing in eastern Paktika province, as Taliban sympathizers claimed responsibility for an attack they say was meant for local police.

On Sunday, a suicide bomb exploded in a crowd watching a volleyball tournament in Yahyakhil, killing or injuring more than 100 spectators.

Sediq Sediqqi , a spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Interior, said the bomb killed 52 people and wounded 67. Abdul Mobin, a Paktika provincial council member, put the death toll higher: 62 people were killed, he said, including several who died after being taken to the hospital.
Four members of the Afghan security forces were killed, he added.

“Blood and dead bodies were everywhere,” said local shopkeeper Enzir Gul, who lost a cousin in the attack.

A Taliban-affiliated website claimed that the bomb was meant to target members of the Afghan Local Police, village self-defense forces that have been mentored by U.S. special-operations troops. The site published photos and names of Afghan Local Police officers the Taliban claimed had been killed in the Paktika bombing.  Read More at Wall Street Journal