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Deadly Welcome
Monday, April 8, 2002
The Associated Press

It was the first time peacekeepers were subject to rocket fire, though there have been several shooting incidents in recent weeks that have been blamed on disgruntled and unpaid northern alliance soldiers or common criminals.

A bomb exploded Monday near a convoy carrying Afghanistan's defense minister, killing at least four bystanders and wounding 16 others in what officials said was another attempt to destabilize the interim government.

Defense Minister Mohammed Fahim was not hurt when the bomb exploded in front of his convoy in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, said Agha Jan, an aide to the region's top military commander, Hazrat Ali. Jan, who was in one of the vehicles, said the dead and wounded were people who had lined up along the road to welcome Fahim and the convoy itself was not hit.

Mir Ajan, a Defense Ministry official, called it an assassination attempt by perpetrators "trying to destabilize the country and disrupt the minister's plans" in Jalalabad.

Fahim was on a trip to meet with local commanders and tribal leaders to discuss, among other issues, a government program launched Monday to eradicate illegal poppy crops, offering farmers money to destroy the narcotic-bearing flowers.

Authorities have said they will destroy the crops if farmers do not comply.

The start of the program was linked to the outbreak of violence in several places, as poor poppy farmers protested that the government's cash offering falls far short of the narcotic's eventual market value.
(More: CBS News Source)
2002 © The Associated Press.

Dan