Roundup: Over 95 killed in bombings, attacks across Afghanistan in January
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E-mail Xinhua, February 1, 2015
More than 95 people, mostly civilians, had been killed and nearly 190 others wounded in the Taliban-led bombings and attacks across Afghanistan in January as the country' s security forces took over the responsibilities of security at the beginning of the month, according to officials.
The statistics revealed that militants carried out more than 35 bomb attacks last month, including one dozen suicide bombings, involving 14 suicide bombers.
The worst attack of the month occurred on Jan. 29, when a suicide bomber exploded his jacket amid a crowd of over 300 people who were attending a funeral in eastern Laghman province.
The service was underway for a police official, who was killed along with three of his family members earlier on the same day. The suicide blast claimed the lives of 16 people and injured 40 others.
Another would-be suicide bomber was also captured at the scene following the explosion.
Besides the suicide bombings, about 23 roadside bomb attacks took place last month throughout the country triggered by remote control devices which were planted on the roadsides.
On Jan. 20, nine civilians were killed and two others wounded after a running bus set off a roadside bomb in eastern Ghazni province.
The Taliban has intensified attacks over the past couple of months as Afghan forces took over the lead in providing security for the country on Jan. 1 this year, following a four-year security transition process that ended on Dec. 31, 2014.
After Jan. 1, the U.S. and NATO-led troops switched from combat to support role -- NATO-led Resolute Support Mission (RSM), which will focus on training, advising and assisting Afghan troops. Nearly 13,000 foreign forces were involved in the mission.
The militants also launched several attacks, including three suicide bombings, in Afghan capital of Kabul last month.
On Jan. 25, a suicide truck bomb went off along a main road in northern Kabul, near the military part of Hamid Karzai International Airport. The powerful blast, which occurred at the wee hours of the day, injured two civilians besides destroying a fuel station and several buildings around the site.
On Jan. 29, three U.S. contractors of RSM were killed when an Afghan army soldier opened fire on them in a Kabul military airport. The attack was claimed by the Taliban and the shooter was also killed in the exchange of fire.
The Taliban militants also launched a string of massive attacks on security checkpoints and army outposts last month, killing and injuring scores of security forces.
On Jan. 7, the militants ambushed a two-vehicle convoy with small arms and killed six workers of a local construction firm in northern Baghlan province.
The exact number of casualties on the army and police last month remained unknown. Nearly 5,000 Afghan soldiers and police were killed and thousands others wounded last year in the Central Asian country.
At least 15 targeted killings occurred in a number of provinces in January, claiming the lives of government officials, security forces and local leaders.
On Jan. 30, Massoum Khan, a tribal elder and head of district social council in Kajaki district of southern Helmand province, was shot dead near a mosque after attending prayers.
In December 2014, about 160 people were killed and 260 others wounded in attacks across the country.
More than 3,180 civilians were killed and nearly 6,430 others wounded in conflicts and Taliban-led attacks from Jan. 1 to Nov. 30 last year, according to figures released by the UN mission in Afghanistan.
The officials blamed the Taliban insurgents and other armed groups for the attacks. Endi
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