UN deplores latest deadly bombing in Afghanistan

The United Nations has condemned this morning's suicide bombing in a south-eastern Afghan town that targeted a clearly marked UN convoy taking part in a polio eradication programme.

Three members of the convoy were killed in the explosion, which occurred about 9:40 a.m. in the town of Spin Boldak, which lies close to the Pakistani border in Kandahar province.

Several bystanders were also injured by the blast, according to a statement issued by a spokesperson for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The attack took place a day after the Governor of Logar province was killed in another suicide bombing near Kabul.

“These unacceptable and cowardly actions show the brutal face of those opposing progress towards peace and reconstruction in Afghanistan,” Mr. Ban's spokesperson said.

The three convoy members killed today were all Afghan nationals: a driver for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), and two doctors working under contract for the World Health Organization (WHO) as part of a polio vaccination campaign in the region.

Kai Eide, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan and the head of UNAMA, and Peter Graaff, the WHO representative to the country, said in a joint statement that the UN has contacted the families of the victims to inform them about the attack.

“The thoughts of the entire United Nations family in Afghanistan are with those who died, and their loved ones,” Mr. Eide and Mr. Graaff said. “This attack was on innocent civilians working only for the people of Afghanistan, and is beyond comprehension.”