Feature: Survivors of bomb attacks wonder why civilians are being targeted

Some survivors of last Friday's bomb attacks in this capital city are wondering why innocent civilians are the usual victims of terror attacks.

Haseebullah, a l9-year-old survivor of Friday's attacks, said that no government officials or foreigners were killed in the attacks, but only ordinary individuals who have nothing to do with the conflict.

Hassebullah, who, like many Afghans, have only one name, told Xinhua that although he survived, he lost five members of his family when an explosive-laden truck rammed into their house. He said their house and the house of his uncle were razed to the ground by the blast.

"We have lost all what we had. Five persons, including three women, were martyred and 10 others injured from my family and that of my uncle," Haseebullah said.

An explosive-laden truck was detonated by militants in Shah Shahid locality early Friday, leaving at least 15 people dead and injuring hundreds others, all civilians. There were two other deadly bomb blasts in the capital Friday that killed scores and injured hundreds.

On Monday, Afghanistan called on Pakistan to help rein in the Taliban after a suicide car bombing near Kabul's international airport killed five people, the latest in a wave of deadly attacks in the capital.

In a televised address, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani cited Pakistan's alleged support for the insurgents who have continued to launch terror attacks, now targeting even civilian sites in the capital Kabul.

"We know they have sanctuaries there, we know they are active there," Ghani said, referring to Taliban leaders living in Pakistan. "We need all those activities to be stopped."

Pakistan has always denied giving support to the Taliban. It said it remains committed to maintaining good relations with Kabul and that after losing tens of thousands of its own people to terrorist attacks, it can feel the "pain and anguish of the brotherly people" of Afghanistan over the latest attacks there.

Hassebullah said that since the bombing, he had been living in the streets. "I have no room to pass the night and no family to live with," he said.

In the conflict-ridden Afghanistan, civilians often bear the brunt of war as 1,592 civilians, including women and children, had been killed in the first six months of the year and 3,329 others injured, a report of United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) released here recently said.

Afghanistan has been the scene of increasing militancy since the death of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar was confirmed on July 30 and the installation of Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor as the new Taliban leader.

Since then up to 50 people have been killed and hundreds others injured in attacks by the Taliban in the capital city Kabul alone.

Hours after the bloody truck blast, Afghan President Ghani and Chief Executive of Abdullah Abdullah visited the site to express their sympathies to the families of the victims.

Both leaders vowed to go after the perpetrators of the deadly attacks using all government resources.

Earlier, some political analysts have faulted the government for not ensuring the safety of the city residents. They said that the bomb attacks could have been prevented if security and intelligence personnel were doing their job. Endi