At Least 41 Killed in Afghanistan Bombings

At least 41 people were killed today in a string of car bombings across a neighborhood of the Afghan city of Kandahar. The bombing was a few hundred meters from several high profile government and UN sites, but appeared directed at a Japanese construction company working with international forces on reconstruction.

Hospitals in the city said roughly 90 people were wounded in the blast, but Wali Karzai also said that more people remained trapped under the rubble, making the toll likely to rise. So far no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The deadly attacks come as the rising death toll among international forces surpassed the already record tolls seen in 2008 and are just another sign of the worsening security situation in the nation. A UN spokesman just down the road from the blast noted “security is not so good in Kandahar.”

Indeed, security is not so good anywhere in Afghanistan, but today’s attack appears to have killed only civilians, which is rather perplexing given the variety of government targets just down the street. It’s just another day for the people of southern Afghanistan, however.