Scores killed, injured in attack on market in eastern Afghanistan: UN

The UN mission in Afghanistan says scores of people have been killed and wounded in a powerful bomb explosion at a busy market in the country’s troubled east.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said on Monday that the deadly attack took place in Nangarhar province.

“UNAMA condemns this morning’s attack in a crowded bazaar in Nangarhar province which killed and wounded scores of civilians, among them some children,” the UNAMA said on its Twitter account. “Continuing attacks targeting civilians across Afghanistan must cease immediately,” it added.

Taliban officials, however, said they could only confirm that 10 people had been wounded in the attack.

“We confirm 10 injuries, we are not confirming deaths,” Quriashi Badloun, the Taliban administration’s head of media and information for Nangarhar said.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the Monday attack, which came amid a political and security crisis in the country. The blast was the latest in a series of deadly attacks that have hit Afghanistan in recent months.