14 killed in Kabul blast; Vice President survives attack
Kabul, July 23: Fourteen people have been killed in a blast which rocked Kabul airport shortly after Afghan Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum returned from self-imposed exile, according to police.
Dostum was unhurt in the attack on Sunday on a square he had just passed through, BBC reported.
He left for Turkey more than a year ago, after he was accused of ordering his men to kidnap and rape a political rival -- accusations he denies. Militant group Islamic State has said it carried out the attack.
Hashmat Estankzai, of Kabul police, said nine security forces members and traffic officers were among the 14 who had died, while another 60 people had been injured.
Estankzai earlier told the BBC a suicide attacker on foot had set off his explosives outside the gate of the airport. Some reports said Gen Dostum's convoy was departing as the blast was heard. He was in an armoured vehicle.
The ethnic Uzbek and former warlord had been cheered by supporters on arrival. Television footage showed Dostum greeting supporters at his office not long after the explosion.
Dostum's reappearance was preceded by unrest in his powerbase in northern Afghanistan, as supporters demanded his return and the release of a militia leader.
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UP: Misled by GPS navigation, car falls into river from partially constructed bridge, 3 dead
Bareilly (UP), Nov 24: Three people died when their car fell into the Ramganga river from a partially constructed bridge here on Sunday, police said, adding that they suspect the driver was misled by its navigation system into taking the unsafe route.
The accident occurred around 10 am on the Khalpur-Dataganj road when the victims were travelling from Bareilly to Dataganj in the Badaun district, they said.
"Earlier this year, floods had caused the front portion of the bridge to collapse into the river, but this change had not been updated in the system," Circle Officer Ashutosh Shivam said.
The driver was using a navigation system and did not realise that the bridge was unsafe, driving the car off the damaged section, the police said.
There were no safety barriers or warning signs on the approach to the damaged bridge, leading to the fatal accident, Shivam said.
Upon receiving information, police teams from Faridpur, Bareilly and Dataganj police station rushed to the spot. They recovered the vehicle and the bodies from the river, Shivam added.
The circle officer said that bodies had been sent for post-mortem. Further investigation into the matter is underway.
— Bareilly Police (@bareillypolice) November 24, 2024
