(Bloomberg) -- An explosive-laden vehicle detonated in the eastern region of Afghanistan, killing almost two dozen, as U.S. troops have just begun to withdraw from the country after two decades.
The blast took place around 7 p.m., when Afghans break Ramadan fasts in Pul-e-Alam city of Logar province just nearby the country's capital, Kabul, according to Ministry of Interior Affairs spokesman Tariq Arian. The bomb claimed the lives of 21 and wounded 91, with the casualties all civilians, Arian said. Law enforcement forces were on the scene to help the injured, he said.
The U.S. plans to pull out its remaining 2,500 troops from the country by Sept. 11. President Joe Biden's decision to unconditionally leave the country will remove the military support to the Afghan government and is said to strengthen Taliban positions in the battlefields.
No group has claimed responsibility for Friday's blast yet, including the Taliban, which control or contest more than of half of the country. The Afghan government blamed the Taliban for the bomb.
Peace talks between the administration of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and the Taliban are stalled and the Taliban refused to attend a U.S.-facilitated peace conference in Istanbul, which had been scheduled on April 24, aimed at ending the war.
Attacks in the country surged by 37% in the first quarter of the year as 643 civilians were killed and 1,395 others wounded, according to Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, citing U.S. officials.
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