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Twin bombing at Afghan ceremony kills 3, wounds a dozen

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Twin bombing at Afghan ceremony kills 3, wounds a dozen
News

News

Twin bombing at Afghan ceremony kills 3, wounds a dozen

2019-03-23 15:16 Last Updated At:15:30

An Afghan official says a twin bombing at a public ceremony attended by local officials in the southern Helmand province has killed three people and wounded a dozen others.

Omar Zwak, spokesman for the provincial governor, says Saturday's bombings targeted a celebration of Farmer's Day in a sports stadium in the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah. He did not say whether any officials were among those killed or wounded.

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Wounded men sit in a tent following multiple explosions in Lashkar Gah city of Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, Saturday, Mar. 23, 2019. An Afghan official says that at least three have been killed in twin bomb explosions occurred during the Farmer’s Day ceremony in southern Helmand province. (AP PhotoAbdul Khaliq)

An Afghan official says a twin bombing at a public ceremony attended by local officials in the southern Helmand province has killed three people and wounded a dozen others.

A wounded man is tended to following multiple explosions in Lashkar Gah city of Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, Saturday, Mar. 23, 2019. An Afghan official says that at least three have been killed in twin bomb explosions occurred during the Farmer’s Day ceremony in southern Helmand province. (AP PhotoAbdul Khaliq)

A wounded man is tended to following multiple explosions in Lashkar Gah city of Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, Saturday, Mar. 23, 2019. An Afghan official says that at least three have been killed in twin bomb explosions occurred during the Farmer’s Day ceremony in southern Helmand province. (AP PhotoAbdul Khaliq)

Wounded men are tended to following multiple explosions in Lashkar Gah city of Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, Saturday, Mar. 23, 2019. An Afghan official says that at least three have been killed in twin bomb explosions occurred during the Farmer’s Day ceremony in southern Helmand province. (AP PhotoAbdul Khaliq)

Wounded men are tended to following multiple explosions in Lashkar Gah city of Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, Saturday, Mar. 23, 2019. An Afghan official says that at least three have been killed in twin bomb explosions occurred during the Farmer’s Day ceremony in southern Helmand province. (AP PhotoAbdul Khaliq)

Police and civilians lie on the ground after multiple explosions in Lashkar Gah city of Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, Saturday, Mar. 23, 2019. An Afghan official says that at least three have been killed in twin bomb explosions occurred during the Farmer’s Day ceremony in southern Helmand province. (AP PhotoAbdul Khaliq)

Police and civilians lie on the ground after multiple explosions in Lashkar Gah city of Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, Saturday, Mar. 23, 2019. An Afghan official says that at least three have been killed in twin bomb explosions occurred during the Farmer’s Day ceremony in southern Helmand province. (AP PhotoAbdul Khaliq)

A wounded man is tended to following multiple explosions in Lashkar Gah city of Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, Saturday, Mar. 23, 2019. An Afghan official says that at least three have been killed in twin bomb explosions occurred during the Farmer’s Day ceremony in southern Helmand province. (AP PhotoAbdul Khaliq)

A wounded man is tended to following multiple explosions in Lashkar Gah city of Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, Saturday, Mar. 23, 2019. An Afghan official says that at least three have been killed in twin bomb explosions occurred during the Farmer’s Day ceremony in southern Helmand province. (AP PhotoAbdul Khaliq)

No one immediately claimed the attack, but the Taliban control much of the province and frequently target government officials and the security forces.

Wounded men sit in a tent following multiple explosions in Lashkar Gah city of Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, Saturday, Mar. 23, 2019. An Afghan official says that at least three have been killed in twin bomb explosions occurred during the Farmer’s Day ceremony in southern Helmand province. (AP PhotoAbdul Khaliq)

Wounded men sit in a tent following multiple explosions in Lashkar Gah city of Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, Saturday, Mar. 23, 2019. An Afghan official says that at least three have been killed in twin bomb explosions occurred during the Farmer’s Day ceremony in southern Helmand province. (AP PhotoAbdul Khaliq)

A wounded man is tended to following multiple explosions in Lashkar Gah city of Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, Saturday, Mar. 23, 2019. An Afghan official says that at least three have been killed in twin bomb explosions occurred during the Farmer’s Day ceremony in southern Helmand province. (AP PhotoAbdul Khaliq)

A wounded man is tended to following multiple explosions in Lashkar Gah city of Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, Saturday, Mar. 23, 2019. An Afghan official says that at least three have been killed in twin bomb explosions occurred during the Farmer’s Day ceremony in southern Helmand province. (AP PhotoAbdul Khaliq)

Wounded men are tended to following multiple explosions in Lashkar Gah city of Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, Saturday, Mar. 23, 2019. An Afghan official says that at least three have been killed in twin bomb explosions occurred during the Farmer’s Day ceremony in southern Helmand province. (AP PhotoAbdul Khaliq)

Wounded men are tended to following multiple explosions in Lashkar Gah city of Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, Saturday, Mar. 23, 2019. An Afghan official says that at least three have been killed in twin bomb explosions occurred during the Farmer’s Day ceremony in southern Helmand province. (AP PhotoAbdul Khaliq)

Police and civilians lie on the ground after multiple explosions in Lashkar Gah city of Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, Saturday, Mar. 23, 2019. An Afghan official says that at least three have been killed in twin bomb explosions occurred during the Farmer’s Day ceremony in southern Helmand province. (AP PhotoAbdul Khaliq)

Police and civilians lie on the ground after multiple explosions in Lashkar Gah city of Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, Saturday, Mar. 23, 2019. An Afghan official says that at least three have been killed in twin bomb explosions occurred during the Farmer’s Day ceremony in southern Helmand province. (AP PhotoAbdul Khaliq)

A wounded man is tended to following multiple explosions in Lashkar Gah city of Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, Saturday, Mar. 23, 2019. An Afghan official says that at least three have been killed in twin bomb explosions occurred during the Farmer’s Day ceremony in southern Helmand province. (AP PhotoAbdul Khaliq)

A wounded man is tended to following multiple explosions in Lashkar Gah city of Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, Saturday, Mar. 23, 2019. An Afghan official says that at least three have been killed in twin bomb explosions occurred during the Farmer’s Day ceremony in southern Helmand province. (AP PhotoAbdul Khaliq)

MANADO, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia's Mount Ruang volcano spewed more hot clouds on Wednesday after an eruption the previous day forced the closure of schools and airports, pelted villages with volcanic debris and prompted hundreds of people to flee.

Seven airports, including Sam Ratulangi international airport in Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi province, remained closed after Tuesday's eruption, the second in two weeks. Schools were shut to protect children from volcanic ash.

The volcano is on tiny Ruang Island, part of the Sitaro islands chain.

The Indonesian geological agency urged people to stay at least 7 kilometers (4 miles) from the volcano’s crater. It warned people on nearby Tagulandang Island, the closest to the volcano, of possible super-heated volcanic clouds from a further eruption and a tsunami if the mountain's volcanic dome collapses into the sea.

Video released by the National Search and Rescue Agency showed about a hundred villagers from Tagulandang Island being evacuated on a navy ship. Hundreds of others were waiting at a local port to be evacuated.

Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said 11,000 to 12,000 people living within a 7-kilometer danger zone would be taken to government shelters.

Tuesday’s eruption darkened the sky and peppered several villages with ash, grit and rocks. No casualties were reported.

After Mount Ruang's April 17 eruption, authorities warned that a subsequent eruption might collapse part of the volcano into the sea.

Ruang is among about 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia. The archipelagic nation is prone to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes because of its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a series of fault lines stretching from the western coast of the Americas through Japan and Southeast Asia.

In this photo released by the Vulcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) of the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Mount Ruang releases volcanic materials during its eruption on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, on Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. Indonesia's Mount Ruang volcano erupted Tuesday for a second time in two weeks, spewing ash almost 2 kilometers (more than a mile) into the sky, closing an airport and peppering nearby villages with debris. (PVMBG via AP Photo)

In this photo released by the Vulcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) of the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Mount Ruang releases volcanic materials during its eruption on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, on Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. Indonesia's Mount Ruang volcano erupted Tuesday for a second time in two weeks, spewing ash almost 2 kilometers (more than a mile) into the sky, closing an airport and peppering nearby villages with debris. (PVMBG via AP Photo)

In this photo provided by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), residents of Tagulandang island sit on a ship of National Search and Rescue Agency to evacuate after Mount Ruang releases volcanic materials in Sulawesi island, Indonesia, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Indonesia's Mount Ruang volcano erupted Tuesday for a second time in two weeks, spewing ash almost 2 kilometers (more than a mile) into the sky, closing an airport and peppering nearby villages with debris.(Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency via AP)

In this photo provided by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), residents of Tagulandang island sit on a ship of National Search and Rescue Agency to evacuate after Mount Ruang releases volcanic materials in Sulawesi island, Indonesia, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Indonesia's Mount Ruang volcano erupted Tuesday for a second time in two weeks, spewing ash almost 2 kilometers (more than a mile) into the sky, closing an airport and peppering nearby villages with debris.(Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency via AP)

In this photo released by the Vulcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) of the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Mount Ruang releases volcanic materials during its eruption, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, on Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. Indonesia's Mount Ruang volcano erupted Tuesday for a second time in two weeks, spewing ash almost 2 kilometers (more than a mile) into the sky, closing an airport and peppering nearby villages with debris. (PVMBG via AP Photo)

In this photo released by the Vulcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) of the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Mount Ruang releases volcanic materials during its eruption, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, on Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. Indonesia's Mount Ruang volcano erupted Tuesday for a second time in two weeks, spewing ash almost 2 kilometers (more than a mile) into the sky, closing an airport and peppering nearby villages with debris. (PVMBG via AP Photo)

Mount Ruang volcano is seen during the eruption from Tagulandang island, Indonesia, Wednesday, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Indonesia's Mount Ruang volcano erupted Tuesday for a second time in two weeks, spewing ash almost 2 kilometers (more than a mile) into the sky, closing an airport and peppering nearby villages with debris.(AP Photo/ Hendra Ambalao)

Mount Ruang volcano is seen during the eruption from Tagulandang island, Indonesia, Wednesday, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Indonesia's Mount Ruang volcano erupted Tuesday for a second time in two weeks, spewing ash almost 2 kilometers (more than a mile) into the sky, closing an airport and peppering nearby villages with debris.(AP Photo/ Hendra Ambalao)

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