US condemns Afghan bomb attacks

Washington : The US strongly condemned the two suicide bombings in Afghanistan that left at least 59 people dead and 154 others injured.

An attack by a suicide bomber at a shrine near the presidential palace in Kabul, where hundreds of people had gathered to observe the annual mourning rite, caused the death of 55 people and injured at least 134.

In Mazar-i-Sharif, a city in northern Afghanistan, four people were killed and 20 others injured in another explosion.

Noting that many of the victims were women and children and worshippers who were observing Ashura, the Muslim day of mourning, White House spokesman Jay Carney said: “The United States continues to stand with the Afghan people against terrorism.”

“Our thoughts and condolences are with those affected by these heinous acts,” he said.

The bombings came a day after an international conference concluded in Bonn over the future of Afghanistan after US and NATO troops withdraw in 2014.