On May 12th 2020, a suicide bomber detonated at a funeral in Khewa district in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province. The blast left 32 dead and wounded 133.
A group affiliated with the Islamic State claimed responsibility.
The funeral targeted was for a former pro-government militia commander.
Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) records casualties (i.e. people killed and injured) from explosive violence around the world as reported in English-language news sources.
Last year, AOAV recorded more than 800 incidents of explosive violence in Afghanistan. These resulted in a total of 9,187 casualties, of which 50% (4,630) were civilians.
The vast majority (78%) of civilian casualties from explosive violence were caused by improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Of the 3,596 civilian casualties caused by IEDs in Afghanistan last year, at least 1,865, or 52%, were caused by suicide attacks, despite suicide attacks accounting for just 15% of total IED attacks.
AOAV calls for states and international organisations to work collaboratively to generate greater awareness of the number of civilians killed and injured each year by IEDs, and encourage a greater stigma from political, religious and social leaders on the use of IEDs. There is an urgent need for preventative measures to be implemented by States and the international community.
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