Toll in Afghanistan suicide attack hits 57

Kabul, Nov 24 (IANS/EFE) The toll in the suicide bomb attack at a volleyball match in Afghanistan at the weekend has risen to 57, with 66 injured being treated in hospital, authorities said Monday.

According to the government of Paktika province where the attack took place, 42 people were killed on the spot in the blast Sunday and 15 others succumbed to their injuries at a hospital overnight.

In the attack, a suicide bomber mixed in with a crowd watching the volleyball match and detonated an explosive device in a village in the southeast of the country.

At least six children and five policemen were among the casualties.

In a statement, President Ashraf Ghani described the attack as inhuman and unjustifiable in any religion or culture, and the work of those who did not want development in a country that has been hit by decades of war.

Hours after the bombing, the lower house of the Afghan parliament approved an agreement with the US and the UN allowing international troops to be present in Afghanistan until 2024.

The International Security Assistance Force, whose work began in 2001 following the US invasion that brought down the Taliban, will conclude its mission next month.

However, NATO has announced that it would maintain 12,500 troops in Afghanistan from 2015 onwards, about 9,800 of whom would be US soldiers.

--IANS/EFE

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