Over 200 killed in major Afghan attacks in April

KABUL?- More than 200 people largely civilians have been killed and nearly 400 others injured in major attacks in Afghanistan last month, according to official sources.

The statistics showed that militants launched about 30 bomb attacks within the last month, including seven suicide bombings, involving 11 suicide attackers.

The bloodiest bombing took place on April 18, after a suicide bomber targeted a local bank during rush hour in eastern Jalalabad city, capital of eastern Nangarhar province, killing 34 people and injuring 120 others.

The Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant since mid-last month when the militant group launched a yearly rebel offensive against security forces.

The Taliban urged civilians to stay away from official gatherings, military convoys and centers regarded as the legitimate targets by militants besides warning people not to support the government.

On April 24, eight civilians, including four women, were killed in two separate rocket attacks in eastern Wardak and neighboring Laghman province while 11 civilians were wounded in the strikes.

Up to 10 civilians, including several judges, were killed while 66 other wounded when Taliban carried out a suicide coordinated attack at a court building in Mazar-i- Sharif, the provincial capital of northern Balkh province on April 9.

On April 2, about 22 civilians died in a suicide bombing during an anti-corruption demonstration in eastern Khost city while the blast also wounded more than 60 others.

In addition to suicide bombings, about 20 roadside bomb attacks took place last month throughout the country. Most of the blasts were triggered by remote control Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

On April 10, one dozen civilians lost their lives after a vehicle set off an IED in eastern Ghazni province.

The Taliban militants also launched a string of massive attacks on security checkpoints and army outposts last month, killing and injuring scores of security forces.

Nearly 30 army soldiers were killed after a group of Taliban attacked army checkpoints in Jurm district of northern Badakhshan province on April 10.

The exact number of casualties on the army and police last month remained unknown.

One U.S. soldier with the NATO-led Resolute Support mission was killed while eight American soldiers wounded as a result of the so- called insider attack when an Afghan army soldier opened fire on them in Nangarhar province on April 8.

At least six targeted killings occurred in a number of provinces in April, claiming the lives of government officials, security forces and local leaders.

In one targeted attack, Gulab Khan, the acting provincial police chief of southern Uruzgan province, was killed by gunmen while inspecting security checkpoints in provincial capital Tirin Kot on April 25.

Khan was replaced the former police chief, Matiullah Khan, who was killed by a suicide attacker in Afghanistan's capital Kabul in March this year.

More than 90 others were killed in separate attacks across the country last month.

In March this year, 120 people were killed and about 170 others wounded in attacks throughout the central Asian country.

In 2014, nearly 3,700 civilians were killed and more than 6,800 others wounded in conflicts and Taliban-led attack, according to official figures released by the UN mission in the country.

The officials blamed the attacks on Taliban insurgents and other armed groups for vast majority of the civilian deaths and injuries last year.