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NY TimesKABUL, Afghanistan — A day after a suicide bomber killed at least 16 people, including 13 schoolchildren, in a region bordering Pakistan, a new rash of bombings shook different areas of Afghanistan on Monday, killing two civilians north of Kabul and two more in Kandahar Province.
The explosion on Sunday detonated outside a local government compound in Khost Province and wounded 53, local government officials and coalition forces said. The bombing, near the border with Pakistan, occurred next to a school, and many children were among the wounded.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
Coalition forces provided a video showing about 15 children walking on the street as they were engulfed by a ball of fire. Mark Larter, a spokesman for the coalition forces, said the death toll also was based on reports of troops at the scene. Two police officers were among the dead.
The number of suicide bombings in Afghanistan has fallen sharply since 2006, mainly because of better intelligence and a proliferation of security checkpoints. But in Khost Province, which borders the tribal area of Pakistan’s North Waziristan, a wave of violence continues to overwhelm security officials.
On Monday morning, moreover, a suicide car bomber in a black Toyota Corolla killed two civilians and wounded 15, including two American servicemen in Chire-kar, the capital city of Parwan Province just north of Kabul, U.S. forces and local government officials said
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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/30/world/asia/30afghan.html?ref=world