Al-Qaida and Taliban blamed as 18 killed in Afghanistan bus bomb

EIGHTEEN people travelling on a bus were killed yesterday when a powerful bomb destroyed a bridge in southern Afghanistan.

Only two people on the bus survived the explosion on the Rambasi Bridge, six miles south of Kandahar, deputy police chief Ustad Nazir Jan said.

He blamed Taliban and al-Qaida fugitives, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast.

Jan said he believed Afghan soldiers were the target of the bomb, which went off barely half-a-mile from an Afghan army post.

Soldiers from the unit are loyal to Kandahar Governor Gul Agha Sherzai and routinely patrol the area, he said.

"We believe they were the target, but we are investigating," he said.

Witnesses on the bridge said body parts lay on the ground around the bus, which was a twisted and mangled hulk.

Nomads living at a nearby camp witnessed the explosion.

"I was with my two children and we heard this loud noise. I ran away from it but then we heard people screaming, we went to help," said Toori Ali.

"It is the worst thing I have ever seen. There were body parts and only a small child and the driver lived," he said, adding that he was still shaking from the sight.

The police said that they were convinced they knew the identity of the culprits Taliban and al-Qaida.

"One hundred percent we are sure it was Taliban and al-Qaida. We will get the proof," Jan said.

He said that the explosion may also have involved guerrillas loyal to renegade rebel commander Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. Afghan and US authorities believe that Hekmatyar's men are aligned with Taliban and al-Qaida fugitives.

Several Afghan soldiers were killed in a similar explosion about two months ago in Kandahar. A bomb went off as their vehicle crossed a busy road.

On September 5, 2002, an assassination attempt was made on Afghan President Hamid Karzai in southern Kandahar. The authorities also blamed Taliban and al-Qaida.

The would-be assassin was killed by US special forces guarding Karzai. Two bystanders were also killed.

Southern Kandahar was the former spiritual base of the Taliban, who were kicked out of power by the US-led coalition's assault on Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001, attacks.

The US military is stationed at the airport in southern Kandahar, from where they track down al-Qaida and Taliban fugitives.

Early this week, US-led coalition forces waged a fierce battle against about 80 rebels in the mountains of south-east Afghanistan. It was the biggest battle in nearly a year.