41 killed in Afghan blast caused by 5 car bombs

KANDAHAR: Five car bombs detonated in a single simultaneous blast today in Afghanistan's largest southern city, flattening buildings and killing
Bomb blast

at least 41 people, officials said.

The force of the explosion just after nightfall shattered windows around the city and sent flames shooting into the sky. So many houses and nearby buildings had collapsed that officials feared the death toll could rise further. At least 66 people were wounded, said Gen Ghulam Ali Wahabat, a police commander in charge of southern Afghanistan.

Afghan officials said the blast appeared to target a Japanese construction company that mostly employs Pakistani engineers. The blast collapsed the company headquarters and destroyed part of a nearby wedding hall, an Associated Press reporter at the scene said.

It wasn't clear why the construction company was targeted.

The AP reporter described the blast as the largest he has heard in nearly eight years of living in Kandahar, the site of several large Taliban attacks in recent years.

This blast destroyed about 40 shops, the AP reporter estimated.

"Once again they've killed children, women, innocent Afghans. They are not human. They are animals. You can see for yourself the destruction of this enemy," said deputy provincial police chief Mohammad Sher Shah.