Suicide Bomber Kills at Least 32 at East Afghanistan Protest

Demonstrators were complaining about local police commander

An apparent ISIS attack against a public protest in the Nangarhar Province has killed at least 32 civilians and wounded 128 others. Several blasts were reported, with the deadliest involving a suicide bomber detonating in the crowd of people.

Locals were protesting about a local police commander at the time of the attack. The Taliban quickly denounced the incident and denied involvement. ISIS has not formally taken credit, but they have carried out numerous attacks in Nangarhar in recent weeks.

In addition to the strikes against the protesters, three schools in the area were also hit. The bombings are just the latest example of how poorly the security situation across Afghanistan is.

Nangarhar Province is among the least secure in the whole country, serving as the center of ISIS activity. The US and Afghanistan have launched several offensives against ISIS in the area, claiming huge casualties inflicted, but ISIS continues to pop up after such offensives.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.