Many killed in Afghan munitions blast

An explosion at a former Taliban armoury in the heart of a southern Afghan town set off a series of blasts today which sent rockets and other ammunition firing in all directions, killing at least 10 people and injuring 35.

Local officials said about 20 buildings were destroyed and 50 people were missing in the rubble–strewn residential area of Spinboldak, a town about 500 kilometers (300 miles) south of the Afghan capital of Kabul near the border with Pakistan.

Afghan soldiers dug through debris, with unexploded rockets and other ammunition littered all around.

The most seriously wounded were being moved to hospitals in Chaman, about three miles away on the Pakistan side of the border, and to the Afghan city of Kandahar.

Habibubulla Allayar, a senior official at the Afghan consulate in Quetta, Pakistan, said the cause of the explosion was unknown.

The first explosion occurred shortly before midnight Thursday and was powerful enough to wake residents in Chaman. Residents said blasts continued almost until morning as fires continued to set off live ammunition, sending fireballs into the sky.

"We were surprised and shocked by the first explosion," said Ahmed Ali Achkazai, a Chaman resident who said he was woken by the first blast. "There were a series of deafening explosions which started shaking our houses."

After running outside, he saw balls of fire rising into the air over Spinboldak as the explosions continued.

An unknown amount of weapons and ammunition was stored at the depot by the Taliban, Afghanistan's former hardline Islamic militia which were ousted last year by a U.S. bombing campaign and allied forces. Afghan officials said they had planned to move the depot away from residential area.

Local commander Fazaludin Agha said 15 Afghan soldiers were in and around the depot on Thursday night. The bodies of eight soldiers had been recovered, he said. Identifying other bodies was difficult because of the force of the blasts.

Pakistani government officials said Afghan authorities had told them civilians were also among those killed.

The U.N.'s World Food Program said two large tents it had erected in Spinboldak were hit – apparently by a rocket – and caught fire. Six Afghan workers were in the area, one was injured, said Khaled Mansour, the agency's spokes said in Islamabad. Stores of edible oil were also damaged.

No Afghan–based U.S. forces are believed to be in the area, which is close to the tribal–controlled border region with Pakistan where fugitive al–Qaida and Taliban fighters are believed to have fled U.S.–led offensives.

The U.S. soldiers maintain a base in the southern city of Kandahar, about 150 kilometers (90 miles) west of Spinboldak.

Pakistani authorities say they have arrested at least 300 al–Qaida or Taliban fighters in the tribal border region in recent months. Officials estimate there may be 1,000 more in the area.

On Thursday, Pakistani forces intensified their hunt for al–Qaida fighters who escaped a gunbattle with Pakistani troops near Wana village, about 300 kilometers (190 miles) west of Islamabad. Ten Pakistani soldiers were killed and several others wounded in the clash. Government officials added that two al–Qaida fighters were killed and one captured, while dozens more of the group, believed to be Chechens, escaped.