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Suicide bomber kills 20 in Afghanistan

14 January 2010 15:43 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Ziya Agazade â€“ APA. A suicide bomber apparently planning to attack a meeting of NATO and tribal officials blew himself up in a busy market district Thursday in central Afghanistan, killing at least 20 people, officials said, making it the deadliest attack against civilians in more than three months.

According to APA citing â€œAssociated Pressâ€, the attack came a day after the U.N. released a report showing that the number of Afghan civilians killed in war-related violence was at its highest level last year, and suicide bombings and other attacks blamed on insurgents were the leading cause of death.

The U.N. report said that more than half the 2,412 civilian deaths last year were the result of suicide bombings and other attacks despite an order by Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar to avoid endangering noncombatants.