Oil tanker explosions kill 10 near U.S. air base in Afghanistan

[News_Editor]

Oil tanker explosions kill 10 near U.S. air base in Afghanistan

2011-10-26 20:02:47 GMT+7 (ICT)

CHARIKAR, AFGHANISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- An oil tanker exploded near a U.S. military base in central Afghanistan on Tuesday evening, killing at least ten people and injuring dozens more, officials said on Wednesday.

The first explosion, caused by a magnet bomb, went off in Afghanistan's central province of Parwan on the road which leads to Bagram Air Base, which is located about 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) southeast of Charikar and is run by U.S. military forces.

Provincial government spokeswoman Roshna Khalid told Pajhwok Afghan News that a second explosion happened when local residents began collecting fuel from the tanker. As a result, ten civilians were killed while 42 others were injured.

According to a witness, the first explosion was a small one, but the second blast which detonated while locals rushed to gather fuel was much stronger, causing damage to surrounding vehicles. Bagram Air Base or foreign forces did not appear to be the target of the attack.

"Afghan National Security Forces led the response efforts to the incident, and an ISAF patrol assisted the Afghan-led response by providing security at the scene," a spokesperson for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said. "The tanker was several kilometers (miles) away from Bagram airfield when it exploded and no ISAF members were harmed in the incident."

Emergency teams transported the victims to the Panjsher Emergency Hospital, the Parwan Civil Hospital and Bagram Clinic. Khalid expressed concern that the death toll could rise as several of the victims were reported to be in a critical condition.

It was not immediately known who carried out the attack.

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