Kabul: Schoolchildren were lined up to greet lawmakers visiting Afghanistan's normally peaceful north when a bomb ripped through the crowd, killing at least 28 people, including five members of parliament, officials said. Some 40 children were among the 80 people wounded.

The attack outside a sugar factory killed a founder of the country's main opposition group yesterday. No one claimed responsibility, and a Taliban spokesman denied the militant group was involved. The Taliban often deny responsibility for attacks with high numbers of civilian deaths, knowing such attacks hurt whatever popular support they have.

A statement from President Hamid Karzai blamed " the enemies of peace and security," a euphemism often used for the Taliban, but such a spectacular attack could also have been the work of al-Qaida. The blast occurred as 18 lawmakers were about to enter the factory in Baghlan, a town about 153 kilometres north of Kabul. It struck children, tribal elders and government officials gathered to greet the delegation, officials said.

Video obtained by AP Television News showed schoolchildren lined up to greet the lawmakers, and one child handing flowers to lawmaker Sayed Mustafa Kazimi - a former Afghan commerce minister and a powerful member of the National Front, a government opposition party - just before the blast. After the blast dead and wounded schoolchildren were seen lying on the ground. Many were taken to the hospital, their legs and faces stained with blood. The Ministry of Interior said at least 28 people were killed.

Source : PTI