Afghan Lawmakers Die in Suicide Blast

Children, Elders Among Dozens Killed

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Nov. 6 -- Dozens of people died Tuesday when a powerful bomb ripped through a welcoming procession for Afghan lawmakers in a northern province that had been considered one of Afghanistan's safest, Afghan and Western security officials said.

At least six members of the Afghan parliament were killed, along with schoolchildren and local elders who had gathered to tour a sugar factory in Baghlan province, nearly 100 miles north of the capital, Kabul. The attack, in Baghlan city, underscored the northward drift of insurgent activity in Afghanistan from traditional extremist strongholds in the south.

Casualty reports varied widely, but it appeared that at least two dozen people had died and 50 or more were injured. The blast, apparently caused by a suicide bomber, was one of the most devastating attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban was ousted from power six years ago.

President Hamid Karzai denounced the attack. "This heinous act of terrorism is against Islam and humanity and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms," he said in a statement. "It is the work of the enemies of peace and security in Afghanistan."

The attack took place just before 4 p.m., according to the governor of Baghlan province, Mohammed Alam Isaqzai. Members of parliament's economics committee had arrived to inspect a recent renovation at the sugar factory. They had gotten out of their cars and were walking toward the factory when the bomber rushed toward them and detonated his explosives.

"Senior officials were coming from Kabul to Baghlan to see the factory, so the people were there greeting them," said Fazal Ahmed, an eyewitness who recounted the blast on Afghanistan's Tolo TV. "Kids from school were there. Our elders were there. And then the explosion happened."

The attack took place in an area where the security threat had been considered relatively low. "Baghlan's been one of the most consistently quiet provinces. There's been very little in the way of insurgent activity recently," said Maj. Charles Anthony, spokesman for NATO-led forces in Afghanistan.

But insurgents have been moving their campaign north this year, destabilizing parts of the country that had been relatively tranquil and stepping up their use of suicide bombs.

A U.S. military spokesman in Afghanistan said the attack bore the hallmarks of a Taliban strike. "It seems to be in line with the kind of attack that they normally carry out," said Lt. Col. David Accetta. "It's another one of their cowardly acts against the innocent people of Afghanistan and the legitimate government of Afghanistan."

The Taliban has traditionally concentrated its attacks on Afghan and international security forces. But a U.N. report released in September found that civilians constituted 80 percent of the Taliban's victims this year.

One member of parliament, Haji Mohammed Anwar Isaqzai, said his brother, also a lawmaker, had been killed in the blast. "We are at the airport now to receive the body of my brother," said an emotional Anwar, who represents Helmand province.

The dead lawmakers also included Sayed Mustafa Kazimi, a former commerce minister and leading member of a political opposition group known as the National Front. Kazimi had been an influential member of the Northern Alliance, the force that battled the Taliban throughout the extremist group's five-year reign over Afghanistan.