Afghanistan’s former Taliban on Friday denied involvement in a bomb blast this week that killed at least 15 people on a passenger bus in the southern province of Helmand. The attack on Wednesday, in which six children and a woman were among the dead, came on one of the bloodiest days since the hardline regime was ousted from power late in 2001, raising fears of a resurgence of the Islamic militia. More than 60 people died in the 24 hours from late Tuesday, 25 of them in a factional clash and 21 in fighting between Afghan forces and suspected Taliban and al Qaeda rebels near the border with Pakistan. “The Taliban are busy ousting infidels from Afghanistan and the Taliban are carrying out activities against their agents,” Mullah Abdul Rauf, a Taliban official, told Reuters by satellite telephone from an undisclosed location. “The Taliban are not linked to the deaths of innocent people and the Taliban feel sorry for those deaths,” he said, referring to the Helmand bus attack which local officials have blamed on the ousted militia. Rauf blamed the attack on rival Afghan commanders settling old scores. Full Story
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