Date: 28 December 2008

Location: Khost province, Afghanistan

Type of event: terrorism

Description:

A suicide car bomber attacked a police and army post next to a primary school in Khost province, Afghanistan. The bomber apparently intended to strike a meeting of tribal elders meeting at the post, driving the explosive-laden 4x4 through the approach to the checkpoint and detonating it next to a group of about 20 children. Of 16 killed, 14 were children ages 8 to 10, one was an Afghan soldier, and the other may have been an Afghan security guard; another 58 people were injured including 40 civilians, many of them children. The children were gathering at the school for the last school day of the year to receive end-of-year certificates.

Consequences: 16 killed, 58 injured

References:

• Ellick, Adam B., 28 Dec. 2008, "Blast kills 16 Afghans near Pakistan border," New York Times, on line [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/29/world/asia/29afghan.html?hp].
• Shah, Amir, and Jason Straziuso, 28 Dec. 2008, "US: 14 students die in bombing at Afghan school," Yahoo! News, on line [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081228/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan].
• Shah, Saeed, 28 Dec. 2008, "Suicide car bomb in Afghanistan kills 14 primary school children," Guardian, on line [http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/28/suicide-car-bomb-attack-afghanistan].

© 2017 by Wm. Robert Johnston.
Last modified 3 December 2017.
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