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Taliban Denies Part in Kandahar Bombing

The Taliban has denied responsibility for what is being called the worst bombing in Afghanistan's history, in which at least 80 people were killed and dozens more wounded by a suicide bomber's blast at a dog-fighting event. Still, many in the area are convinced that the Taliban played a role in the killing.

Afghans believe the target of the bombing was a prominent tribal leader who opposed the Taliban. The man, Abdul Hakim Jan, was also the leader of a local militia.

Funerals have already begun in Kandahar, where the governor expressed outrage at the attack.

An exact death count has been difficult to determine, partly because family members and survivors carried off the bodies from the blast site, in order to hold funerals. Under Islamic law, bodies are to be buried within 24 hours.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Special correspondent Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson is based in Berlin. Her reports can be heard on NPR's award-winning programs, including Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and read at NPR.org. From 2012 until 2018 Nelson was NPR's bureau chief in Berlin. She won the ICFJ 2017 Excellence in International Reporting Award for her work in Central and Eastern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Afghanistan.
Andrea Seabrook
Andrea Seabrook covers Capitol Hill as NPR's Congressional Correspondent.