At least 45 killed in wave of attacks in Afghanistan

At least 36 people have died and at least 66 were injured this afternoon in a string of suicide attacks in Zaranj, capital of the province Afghanistan Nimroz (southwest), which borders Iran. The authorities have ensured that there are four areas affected by the explosions, one of which occurred in a market which recorded a large influx due to purchases to celebrate the end of Ramadan on Sunday 19. A second attack, also in a market in Kunduz province, added 9 deaths to total deaths today in Afghanistan. 36 people were injured in this second attack. The police chief of Nimroz, Mohd Musa Rasuli, has indicated that another explosion occurred Zaranj outside a city hospital. Nur Ahmad Shezad, hospital physician, has indicated that a hundred people had to be addressed after the attack and is expected to increase the death toll in the coming hours. "We have confirmed that 21 civilians and 15 members of the security forces have died in these attacks and more than 66 people are injured," reported by the provincial governor, Abdul Karim Brahawi who added that the attacks are the work of five men of which two have been killed by security forces while the other three blew themselves up in the blasts.Sharifa Hamidi, local MP, described the attack as "brutal act that has no justification" told the Afghan Tolo TV station. The string of suicide bombings took place shortly after the authorities in that city arrested two other insurgents equipped with explosives they planned to commit similar actions. Afghan intelligence sources assured the BBC that there are at least 14 potential suicide bombers infiltrated Zaranj, an area usually little conflicted about the whole country. On Saturday, an Afghan police killed eleven of his companions in the same province after opening fire on a security post. United Nations last week published a report detailing that 1,145 Afghan civilians have died in the first six months of the year and 1,954 were injured, representing a drop of 15 percent over the same period last year.