Afghanistan: Attack on Logar hospital kills 60

25 June BBC

At least 60 people have been killed in a car bomb attack at a hospital in Afghanistan's Logar province, local officials say.

Dozens more were hurt in the blast, some critically. Most of the casualties were civilians.

Militants often target Afghan state employees as well as foreign forces.

Officials blamed the Taliban, but a Taliban spokesman said it did not attack public places, adding the blast was caused by "someone with an agenda".

Provincial official Din Mohammad Darwaish said the death toll could well increase as there were people buried under rubble.

Rescue teams are at the scene trying to pull out those that are trapped.

A large number of people had been gathering at the clinic, in Azra district, for weekly treatment, many of them women and children, he said.

"The target of the blast is not clear but what is obvious is that a hospital was attacked and civilians were killed," he said.

The BBC's Bilal Sarwary in Kabul says there is almost no central government control over Azra, which is close to the Pakistan border, and insurgents and smugglers are well-established there.

The attack comes a day after 10 people were killed and 24 injured in a blast in the northern Kunduz province.

On Wednesday US President Barack Obama announced a partial troop pullout from Afghanistan.