Suicide attack in Helmand kills 26

Twenty-six Afghans, half of them civilians, were killed by a suicide bombing in a crowded market in Helmand Province on Monday night, The New York Times reported.

In the town of Gereshk, where the bombing took place, investigators are attempting to comb through the rubble to determine if more than one bomb was set off.

Suicide bombings have become a growing problem in the country. According to the article: “Afghanistan experienced the second highest number of suicide bombings in the world in 2006 and so far in 2007, according to Mohammed Hafiz, a political science professor at the University of Missouri who tracks suicide bombings. He said Afghanistan trailed only Iraq, which had 322 suicide bombings this year through the end of August, and 179 in all of 2006.”

A United Nations report said that the suicide bombers seem to be young, poorly educated Afghans who had been taught at religious schools in Pakistan and received support from networks inside of Afghanistan.

This year, civilians have comprised the majority of victims, although suicide bombers in the country generally attack Afghan and foreign security forces.

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