Bodies of Indians killed in Afghan bomb attack reaches Delhi

New Delhi, Apr 16 : Kin of the two Indian engineers killed in a suicide bomb attack in southwest Afghanistan receive compensation, as the bodies of the victims reached New Delhi on Wednesday.

A suicide bomber killed two Indian road engineers and an Afghan in Afghanistan on Saturday in the second deadly attack on road builders in a week.

Nearly 4,000 Indians are engaged in various infrastructure projects in Afghanistan. India has pledged 850 million dollars for the reconstruction work of the country.

The next of kin of the victims have been awarded compensation, said Lieutenant General A.K. Nanda, Director General, Border Road Organistaion (BRO).

"The bodies will be handed over to next of kin today. The compensation amount is also being paid to them. It is to the tune of rupees 24 lakh for one individual and about rupees 19 lakh for the other person," said Lieutenant General Nanda.

"However we would like the work there to continue and (hope that) we are able to complete it at the earliest," added Nanda.

Afghanistan's Ambassador to India Sayed Makhdoom Raheen paid homage to the victims and said that suicide bombings are difficult to check in the strife-torn country.

"The Government has done its best, but you know this kind of cowardly action - suicide bombing is something that is sometimes really hard or impossible to prevent," he said.

A Taliban spokesperson had claimed responsibility for the attack.

Ousted in 2001, the Taliban insurgents are fighting to expel foreign forces and bring down Afghanistan's western-backed government.

Their insurgency, which has intensified over the past two years, includes attacks on reconstruction and aid work that the Government and its allies hope will win over the people and isolate the insurgent leadership.

Most of the violence is in the south and east, near the border with Pakistan where the Taliban have sanctuaries in remote tribal areas.

ANI