Suicide attack in Afghanistan kills at least 41

KABUL, Afghanistan -- At least 41 people, including six Afghan lawmakers and a number of children, were killed Tuesday in one of the country's deadliest suicide attacks since the ouster of the Taliban, authorities said.

President Hamid Karzai declared three days of national mourning today and warned the death toll could rise even further because some of the victims might have been taken away from the scene for burial without being counted officially.

The bomber struck at a sugar factory in Baghlan province, north of Kabul, during a visit by a delegation from the lower house of parliament. The legislators, on an economic fact-finding trip, were being greeted by local dignitaries and youths at the time.

"The explosion happened when the school students were singing songs to welcome the lawmakers to their province," said Zemeri Bashary, an Interior Ministry spokesman.

At least 42 of the 81 wounded were schoolchildren, said Mohammad Yousuf Fayez, a doctor at Baghlan's main hospital. It was not immediately known how many children had been killed.

"I saw bodies lying in the streets, and some of the people were stealing the weapons of the dead soldiers. Children are screaming for help. It's like a nightmare," resident Mohammed Rahim told Reuters news service. He said two of his cousins, both schoolgirls, died in the blast.

Among the dead was Sayed Mustafa Kazimi, a former commerce minister who is a spokesman for the National Front, Afghanistan's largest opposition group. Those wounded were reported to also include lawmakers.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack, and a purported Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, denied the group was involved.

Taliban attacks typically target Afghan and international security forces or government leaders but often kill civilians nearby. Most of their attacks are in the country's south or east. Taliban bombers have killed regional governors in the past, but never so many public figures at once.

An estimated 5,700 people were killed in Afghanistan this year, the highest toll since U.S.-led forces overthrew the Taliban in December 2001. The bloodshed has put pressure on Karzai's government, which is struggling to maintain public support.

"This heinous act of terrorism is against Islam and humanity, and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms," Karzai said in a statement. "It is the work of the enemies of peace and security in Afghanistan."

The White House called the attack "a despicable act of cowardice."

Shukria Barakzai, a member of parliament, said lawmakers convened an emergency session Tuesday night and many were shaken by the attack.

"They are really heroes for the country," Barakzai said. "They didn't belong to just one tribe or one political party. They were people who had different political points of view."

The attack came before what some observers expect will be the traditional lull in fighting during winter.

The international forces and Afghan officials say that the Taliban have taken heavy losses in fighting this year, leaving them more reliant on guerrilla tactics such as suicide attacks and roadside bombs.

On Tuesday, dozens of Taliban extremists reportedly overran a district center in central Afghanistan and cut off the town's main road. Also, in southern Kandahar province, rocket fire from insurgents narrowly missed Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay, who was visiting a Canadian military outpost.

Information from The Washington Post and The Associated Press is included in this report.