At least 27 people have died and dozens more injured in Afghanistan’s eastern residential area of Pul-e-Alam, Logar province on Friday evening after a suicide truck bombing struck a guest house.
The head of Logar’s provincial council, Hasibullah Stanekzai disclosed the news in a statement.
According to Stanekzai, the blast went off when people were breaking their fast during the Islamic month of Ramadan at the guest house that is provided for free by the government, usually for the poor, travellers and students.
Among the casualties were high school students who had been staying at the house, having travelled to the provincial capital to sit their university entrance exams, as well as pro-government militia members who were staying there while waiting for air transport to another district, Al Jazeera reported.
The blast also caused widespread damage in the area, including to a hospital and residential houses leaving other people trapped under the debris.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the blast and there was no indication as to why the guest house was targeted.
The blast comes a day before the US military formally begins to pull out its remaining troops from the violence-wracked country.
US President Joe Biden announced earlier this month that all American troops will leave Afghanistan by the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
Violence has surged in Afghanistan in recent months as global diplomatic efforts to strike a peace deal between the Taliban and government forces have so far failed, inflicting high casualties on the civilians.
