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Over 50 Killed, Injured As Explosion Rocks Afghanistan

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Over 50 Killed, Injured As Explosion Rocks Afghanistan

A suspected bomb attack on worshippers at a Shiite mosque in the Afghan city of Kunduz killed at least 50 people Friday, in the bloodiest assault since US forces left the country.

Scores more victims from the minority community were wounded in the blast, which has not been claimed but appears designed to further destabilise Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban takeover.

A medical source at the Kunduz Provincial Hospital said that 35 dead and more than 50 wounded had been taken there, while a worker at a Doctors Without Borders hospital reported 15 dead and scores more wounded.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid had earlier said an unknown number of people had been killed and injured when “an explosion took place in a mosque of our Shiite compatriots” in Kunduz.

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There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State group, arch-rival of the Taliban, has claimed similar recent atrocities.

Residents of Kunduz, the capital of a province of the same name, told AFP the blast hit a Shiite mosque during Friday prayers, the most important of the week for Muslims.

Zalmai Alokzai, a local businessman who rushed to Kunduz Provincial Hospital to check whether doctors needed blood donations, described horrific scenes.

“Ambulances were going back to the incident scene to carry the dead,” he said.

An international aid worker at the MSF hospital in the city told AFP there were fears the death toll could rise.

“Hundreds of people are gathered at the main gate of the hospital and crying for their relatives but armed Taliban guys are trying to prevent gatherings in case another explosion is planned,” he said.

Graphic images shared on social media, which could not immediately be verified, showed several bloodied bodies lying on the floor. Pictures showed plumes of smoke rising into the air over Kunduz.

Another video showed men shepherding people, including women and children, away from the scene. Frightened crowds thronged the streets.

Aminullah, an eyewitness whose brother was at the mosque, told AFP: “After I heard the explosion, I called my brother but he did not pick up.

“I walked towards the mosque and found my brother wounded and faint. We immediately took him to the MSF hospital.”

A female teacher in Kunduz told AFP the blast happened near her house, and several of her neighbours were killed. “It was a very terrifying incident,” she said.

“Many of our neighbours have been killed and wounded. “A 16-year-old neighbour was killed. They couldn’t find half of his body. Another neighbour who was 24 was killed as well.”

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Kunduz’s location makes it a key transit point for economic and trade exchanges with Tajikistan.

It was the scene of fierce battles as the Taliban fought their way back into power this year.

Often targeted by Sunni extremists, Shiite Muslims have suffered some of Afghanistan’s most violent assaults, with rallies bombed, hospitals targeted and commuters ambushed.

Shiites make up roughly 20 per cent of the Afghan population. Many of them are Hazara, an ethnic group that has been heavily persecuted in Afghanistan for decades.

In October 2017, a lone IS suicide attacker struck a Shiite mosque as worshippers gathered for evening prayers in the west of Kabul, killing 56 people and wounding 55 including women and children.

And in May this year, a series of bombings outside a school in the capital killed at least 85 people — mostly young girls. More than 300 were wounded in this attack on the Hazara community.

AFP

 

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Trump Makes Victory Speech

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Trump Protests As FBI Search Divides Republicans, Democrats

By John Michael Ojo

Following his victory at the keenly contested November 5 general elections, Donald Trump, a former President of the United States has declared that he will fight for America every single day of his life.

Trump made the statement while addressing his supporters after Fox News projected him to win the country’s presidential election.

The former Republican President had earlier won Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, key battleground States for the 2024 presidential election.

“I will fight for you, and every single day, I will be fighting for you and with every breath, with my body.

“I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe and prosperous America that our children deserve and that you deserve. This will truly be the golden age of America than what we have.

“It’s victory for the American people that will allow us to make America great again,” he said

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Elon Musk Reveals What’ll Happen If Trump Loses Election

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Nigeria Approves Elon Musk's Starlink As Internet Service Provider

By John Michael Ojo

As citizens in America prepare to elect their 47th president on the 5th of November, Elon Musk an ardent supporter of Donald Trump, has called on Americans to elect the former US President in order to preserve democracy in the country.

Musk who alleged that democracy in the US would be ‘over’ if Trump fails to secure the desired vote to return him to the White House, said going by the current immigration policy of the Democrats, nearly 2 millions illegal immigrants would have been eligible to vote at the end of the next four years if 1 in 20 illegal immigrants becomes US citizen within this time frame.

The South African-born tech guru and world’s richest man, posting on his X handle wrote: “Very few Americans realize that, if Trump is NOT elected, this will be the last election. Far from being a threat to democracy, he is the only way to save it!

“Let me explain: if even 1 in 20 illegals become citizens per year, something that the Democrats are expediting as fast as humanly possible, that would be about 2 million new legal voters in 4 years.

“The voting margin in the swing states is often less than 20 thousand votes. That means if the “Democratic” Party succeeds, there will be no more swing states!!

“Moreover, the Biden/Harris administration has been flying “asylum seekers”, who are fast-tracked to citizenship, directly into swing states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin and Arizona. It is a surefire way to win every election.

“America then becomes a one-party state and Democracy is over. The only “elections” will be the Democratic Party primaries. This already happened in California many years ago, following the 1986 amnesty.

“The only thing holding California back from extreme socialism and suffocating government policies is that people can leave California and still remain in America. Once the whole country is controlled by one party, there will be no escape.

“Everywhere in America will be like the nightmare that is downtown San Francisco.”

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Bangladesh Prime Minister Resigns, Flees As Deadly Anti-government Rallies Grip Nation

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Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina

The prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, resigned on Monday after
weeks of deadly anti-government demonstrations gripped the South Asian nation.

The announcement from Bangladesh’s army chief, Gen. Waker-uz-Zaman, came after protesters stormed the official residence of the prime minister in the capital, Dhaka.

Images showed flames billowing from vehicles near Hasina’s house, with police unable to contain throngs of people charging toward the neighborhood. Scenes also emerged of people clambering atop an imposing statue of Hasina’s father, independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in Dhaka, and carving away at the head with an axe, according to Reuters.

Earlier in the day, the military and police had attacked demonstrators rallying in the area, according to a journalist working for CNN in Dhaka.

Bangladesh bans Jamaat-e-Islami party following violent protests that left more than 200 dead

At least 91 people were killed and hundreds injured on Sunday in clashes between police and protesters demanding the scrapping of quotas for government jobs and the resignation of the prime minister. Opponents say the civil service job quotas are discriminatory.

The death toll on Sunday, which included 13 police officers, was the highest for a single day from any protests in the country’s recent history. The figure surpassed the 67 deaths reported on July 19, when students took to the streets against the quotas, Reuters reported. At least 32 children were killed during protests last month, UNICEF said on Friday.

The widespread unrest – which spilled into the cities of Rajshahi, Barisal and Chittagong among others – prompted the government to impose an indefinite nationwide curfew over the weekend. Meanwhile, human rights groups accused authorities of using excessive force against protesters, a charge the government denies.

The military will form an interim government in the wake of Hasina’s resignation, according to the army chief, who called on students “to maintain peace and help us.”

“Whatever demands you have, we will fulfil and bring back peace to the nation, please help us in this, stay away from violence,” Zaman said on Monday. He added that “the military will not fire at anyone, the police will not fire at anyone, I have given orders.”

The US embassy in Dhaka urged US citizens to “shelter in a safe place,” in new travel guidance issued Monday. Authorities added that US nationals in the capital should consider returning to their home country, amid the “unpredictable and volatile” atmosphere.

The main flight hub in Dhaka, the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, was temporarily closed following Hasina’s resignation, according to the Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) state news agency.

View this interactive content on CNN.com
Just on Sunday, Hasina had accused student protesters of being “terrorists,” attempting to “destabilize the nation,” Reuters reported. “I appeal to our countrymen to suppress these terrorists with a strong hand,” she said.

Earlier this year human rights organizations expressed concern over increased reports of political violence, following a general election that saw Hasina secure a fourth consecutive term in office.

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party boycotted the national vote in January, as critics warned Hasina and her government were headed toward a one-party system marred by accusations of authoritarianism.

People reacted with a mixture of jubilation and cynicism following her resignation on Monday.

“Hasina may be gone, but there is still a long road ahead for Bangladesh – until our religious minorities and ethnic minorities are protected and justice comes to them too, the nation is not free,” Khatib Zahin, 28, told CNN.

Another resident, Arifeen Mahmood Khan, said: “Let’s be better, stronger and kinder than we’ve ever been before. Let’s work together to build a better Bangladesh we’ve always dreamed of.”

Police opened fire on protesters in Dhaka earlier in the day, according to a journalist working for CNN, even as security forces have been under scrutiny for unleashing a wave of brutality on demonstrators.

At least four people sustained injuries as protesters were gathering at Dhaka Medical College on Monday, according to the journalist. One of those people was shot in the head.

Protesters told CNN that ⁠the military was blocking Dhaka Medical College Bakshibazar Gate. Police also used tear gas on protesters there, according to a demonstrator on the ground.

Students and protesters at Dhaka University Campus and the Shaheed Minar, a national monument in the capital, were beaten by police as they assembled at these locations.

Protesters there said that the police had attempted to break up the crowd by “brutally beating” them with bamboo sticks and using tear gas.

“Direct open firing took place in Shahbag area 15 minutes ago. We don’t have an estimate of how many were injured. It is still ongoing. Near Motijhil Shantinagar, tear gas has been fired on common people,” one demonstrator told CNN.

Protesters celebrated her resignation on Monday, as nationwide rallies over quotas for government jobs sweep the country.

In other locations across Dhaka, the military has also fired warning shots in the sky and towards protesters.

Video posted on social media and verified by CNN showed security forces launching live rounds into the air near protesters on the N1 highway in Dhaka.

Protesters in Dhaka told CNN that the university campus had been surrounded by armed forces.

. CNN

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