Car bomb kills at least 30 in Afghanistan's eastern Logar province

Huge car bomb in the provincial capital of Pul-e Alam also injured 60 people

KABUL:

A huge car bomb blast killed at least 30 people and injured dozens more in Afghanistan's eastern Logar province on Friday, officials said.

The car detonated in Logar's capital of Pul-e Alam near the home of the former head of the provincial council and not far from a hospital, Didar Lawang, the spokesman for Logar's governor, said.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the blast.

Violence in Afghanistan has escalated in recent weeks after US President Joe Biden announced the US would withdraw troops by September 11 to end two decades of foreign military presence. That decision angered the Taliban who had signed a deal with previous US president Donald Trump that specified troops would be gone from the country by May 1 subject to certain security guarantees.

Interior ministry spokesperson Tariq Arian said that the death toll from Friday's blast could rise.

Around 60 people were wounded, according to the head of Logar's provincial council, Hasibullah Stanekzai.

A ministry of health spokesperson said around 40 people had been taken to hospital, some in a critical condition.