Death toll in Afghanistan suicide attack rises to 68

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Afghan authorities on Wednesday raised the death toll in a suicide bomb attack on protesters in Nangarhar province to 68 and the number of wounded to 165.

The attack took place on Tuesday when an insurgent detonated the explosives he was carrying in his vest in the Momand Darah district, where a protest against a local police commander from the neighbouring Achin province was being held.

"These are the final figures and the number of casualties increased after we collected the data from all hospitals in Jalalabad city and hospitals in districts particularly in areas near to the site of the blasts," provincial governor's spokesperson Attaullah Khogyanai told Efe news.

A number of dead bodies were directly taken to their homes by relatives and, therefore, not counted in Tuesday's figures, the official added.

The Taliban denied responsibility for the attack, the fourth attack to hit the region on Tuesday, after a 14-year-old died and four civilians were injured in three separate explosions near two girls' schools.

In recent weeks, Nangarhar, the Islamic State terror organization's bastion since it became active in the country in 2015, has faced a large number of attacks targeting elections, the government and civilians.

At least 18 people were killed, including the three attackers, and another 15 wounded in an attack against a provincial headquarters of the department of refugees and migrants at the end of July.

--IANS

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