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Afghanistan: Twin blasts hit western city of Herat | Afghanistan: Twin blasts hit western city of Herat |
(about 6 hours later) | |
At least five people were killed and about 30 wounded after twin bomb blasts struck the Afghan city of Herat. | At least five people were killed and about 30 wounded after twin bomb blasts struck the Afghan city of Herat. |
The fatalities occurred after a roadside bomb in the city centre. | |
In the second assault, a suicide bomber attacked the Nato-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) base on the outskirts of the city. | In the second assault, a suicide bomber attacked the Nato-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) base on the outskirts of the city. |
Meanwhile, an Afghan soldier shot dead a Nato soldier in the province of Uruzgan, the latest in a string of attacks by "rogue" security personnel. | |
A local commander told the BBC that the soldier had fled the camp after the incident. A Nato spokesman said the alliance was investigating the exact circumstances of the attack. | |
The BBC's Bilal Sarwary in Kabul says that such attacks by rogue Afghan soldiers and Taliban infiltrators are yet another challenge to Nato's already perilous mission in Afghanistan. | |
Afghan officials say such attacks have shattered the confidence of Afghan security institutions and create mistrust between the Afghan and international forces. | |
The Taliban recently declared a "spring offensive" of attacks in Afghanistan. There have been regular attacks on city centres and high-profile killings of key figures in the Afghan security forces over the past month. | |
On Sunday, Taliban militants attacked a construction firm in the province of Logar, killing four road workers, a provincial spokesman told the BBC. | |
'Powerful blast' | |
Herat - a relatively peaceful city - is one of the places due to be handed over to Afghan control in July when international forces begin their phased withdrawal. | |
An Afghan intelligence official there said that the first attack was a "powerful" bomb blast. | |
"It happened at a busy place at a busy time. The windows of nearby buildings were broken. I was nearby when the explosion took place," he told the BBC. | "It happened at a busy place at a busy time. The windows of nearby buildings were broken. I was nearby when the explosion took place," he told the BBC. |
Witnesses at the scene of the PRT base said at least two suicide bombers attacked the compound, while a number of insurgents tried to get inside. | |
Attackers are also said to have taken up positions on a nearby buildings to shoot into the compound. Nato called in helicopters for defence. | |
A police official told the BBC that shops had been closed and that police and army officers had been deployed across the city. | |
PRTs are typically joint military and civilian operations designed to help build up Afghan government capacity in a province. There are 28 of them across Afghanistan. | PRTs are typically joint military and civilian operations designed to help build up Afghan government capacity in a province. There are 28 of them across Afghanistan. |
Earlier, Nato generals in Afghanistan apologised after civilians were killed in an air strike on Sunday. Afghan President Hamid Karzai had criticised the coalition for the attack, which killed nine people. | |