19 killed in deadly blast targeting Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan
New Delhi : 19 people were killed after a suicide bomber blew himself up in a city in Eastern Afghanistan where President Ashraf Ghani was scheduled to visit.
The attacker struck a market located hundreds of metres from the provincial governor's compound where Ghani was holding meetings, governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP.
Out of 19 people killed, 12 were Sikhs and Hindus. Another set of 20 people were left injured in the attack.
Provincial health director Najibullah Kamawal confirmed 19 people had been killed, the majority of them Sikhs.
Interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish confirmed a suicide bomber carried out the attack -- the latest in a series of recent deadly assaults in the restive province.
The attack comes a day after Ghani ordered Afghan security forces to resume offensive operations against the Taliban following the expiration of the government's 18-day ceasefire.
