Bomb Explodes in Kabul; 9 Die
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KABUL, Afghanistan — A bomb hidden in a truck in downtown Kabul exploded Saturday, shattering the quiet of a Muslim holiday and killing at least nine people and wounding 49, officials said.
The explosion prompted officials to increase security, which had been relaxed during the three-day Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice) holiday.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the Soviet-backed government blamed U.S.-backed Muslim guerrillas and unnamed “foreign agents.”
The bomb, which experts say may have contained as much as 1,100 pounds of dynamite, exploded at noon in a crowded bazaar area near the city’s center, police and witnesses said.
The explosion blew a crater six feet wide and three feet deep in the road, officials said.
Hospital sources said at least 10 of the injured were in critical condition.
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