Roundup: Nearly 150 killed in Afghan attacks in May
Xinhua, June 1, 2015 Adjust font size:
About 150 people, largely civilians, have been killed and nearly 270 others injured in major attacks in Afghanistan last month, according to official sources.
The number of casualties declined last month in compare with April when 205 people lost their lives and 400 others sustained injuries as the security forces continue to press the militants throughout the country, the data revealed.
The statistics showed that militants launched some 21 major bomb attacks within the last month, including 11 suicide bombings, involving 21 suicide attackers.
On May 25, a suicide bomber detonated a truck bomb in front of provincial council office in southern Zabul province, killing four people and injuring 73 others.
The Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant since mid-April when the militant group launched a yearly rebel offensive against security forces.
The Taliban warned people not to support the government.
The militants also carried out six suicide bombings in Afghan capital Kabul in May causing casualties among the civilians.
In one attack, five civilians were killed and 50 others wounded after a man exploded a car bomb in parking lot of Justice Ministry on May 19.
On May 17, on British contractor of the EUPOL (European Union Police Mission in Afghanistan) and two school girls were killed and 18 civilians wounded after a Taliban suicide car bomb attacked a EUPOL vehicle near Kabul International Airport.
On May 13, seven foreigners were among 14 killed when a Taliban fighter launched a shooting attack inside a guest house in central Kabul. Six people sustained injuries by gunshots.
In addition to suicide bombings, about 10 roadside bomb attacks took place last month throughout the country.
On May 26, six civilians lost their lives after a vehicle set off a bomb in southern Kandahar province.
The Taliban militants also launched a string of massive attacks on security checkpoints and army outposts last month, killing and injuring scores of security forces.
Up to 26 police personnel and army soldiers were killed after a group of Taliban attacked security checkpoints in Musa Qala district of southern Helmand province.
The exact number of casualties on the army and police last month remained unknown.
At least nine targeted killings occurred in different places in May, claiming the lives of government officials, security forces and local leaders.
In one targeted attack, Mawlawi Sayyed Maqboul, a jihadi leader and tribal elder wash shot dead in suburban of Kabul.
More than 90 others were killed in separate attacks across the country last month.
In the first four months of 2015, more than 970 civilians were killed and more than 1,960 others wounded in conflicts and Taliban- led attack which showed a 16 percent increase over the same period last year, according to official figures released by the UN mission in the country.
The officials blamed the attacks on Taliban insurgents and other armed groups for vast majority of the civilian deaths and injuries in the first four months of the year. Endi