[Published: Wednesday September 12 2018]
 Afghan death toll soars to 68 in suicide bomb attack
NANGARHAR, Afghanistan 12 Sep (ANA) - The death toll from a suicide bomb attack at a protest gathering in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar on Tuesday has risen to 68, with 165 wounded, a government official said.
The provincial governor's spokesman, Attaullah Khogyani, issued a statement with a revised casualty total on Wednesday after earlier estimates put the death toll at 32.
Scores of demonstrators had blocked the highway between the provincial capital Jalalabad and a key border crossing with Pakistan, when the bomber struck.
The protesters had come from Achin district to demand the removal of a local police commander.
The attack was one of the worst in Afghanistan for months but security officials have warned that similar attacks are likely if crowds gather for campaign rallies ahead of parliamentary elections in October.
"... the explosion happened and I found myself surrounded by blood and flesh," Zar Khan, one of the injured, told AFP news agency.
The deadly suicide attack came hours after multiple bombings targeted schools in Jalalabad.
One blast went off at the entrance of Malika Omaira girls' school in the morning, killing a 14-year-old boy and wounding four other people. It was followed by two explosions in Behsud district, also near two schools.(ANA)
FA/ANA/12 September 2018--------
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