At least three people were killed and seven others injured in a blast at a hotel in Afghanistan’s southeast Khost province.
The hotel, a favored haunt for both Afghan locals and refugees who had fled the turbulent regions of Pakistan’s once notorious North Waziristan, bore witness to the devastation. Mustaghfir Gurbaz, a spokesperson for the police force in Khost, shed light on the incident, sharing that the blast’s epicenter was within the walls of this well-known establishment.
The statement did not specify whether the explosion was accidental or an attack.
No group has claimed responsibility for the blast.
Police said the victims came from the other side of the Durand Line – the internationally recognized border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Pakistani migrants have crossed over to seek refuge in a camp in the Golani region of Khost province.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman, an Afghan resident and an eyewitness to the explosion, told EFE that the “strong blast affected a nearby hotel and shops.”
The regions across the Durand Line are home to active armed groups, including the Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which is not directly linked but shares ideology with the Afghan Taliban movement.
Thousands of Pakistanis, mainly Pashtuns, have fled for refuge on the Afghan side.
