MAIMANA (SW) – The Taliban insurgents staged at least seven deadly car bombings in Faryab province in the past two months alone.
Abdul Karim Yurish, spokesman for the Faryab Police Command, told Salam Watandar out of these seven attacks, the security forces managed to blow up four cars packed with explosives before they could reach the target. Most of the blasts occurred in areas under the influence of the Taliban, he said.
Security officials in the province said the explosions by other three car bombs by the Taliban caused casualties among security forces as well as civilians. The police spokesman said eight civilians and four soldiers were killed in the blasts, and 24 civilians and 11 soldiers were wounded in these attacks.
Yurish said the blasts also caused extensive financial damage, destroying more than 150 shops, 200 homes and a number of mosques.
Faryab Governor Naqibullah Fayek said the insurgents are targeting civilians in their markets and villages and destroying their homes. “There is no need to use an ‘atomic bomb’ to destroy a whole village,” said the Faryab governor while referring to the car bombings.
Commenting on this, Sayed Zainuddin Abedi, head of the Faryab civil society, expressed concerns about the poor security situation in the province. With each passing day, he said, the fighting in the districts is intensifying and many young people are getting killed. Abedi said the government is ignoring the voices of the people and civil society activists, and that there has been no positive change in the security situation in the districts.
However, Faryab security officials said the Taliban have been defeated on the battlefield that is why they are staging car bombings.
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