Death toll in Afghan fuel tanker explosion rises to 31

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Taliban government spokesman says the death toll from a fuel tanker explosion in a tunnel north of the Afghan capital has climbed to 31. He said on Monday that more bodies were pulled out from the site and rescuers continued to search for survivors. The cause of the blast on Saturday evening in Salang Tunnel remained unclear. The tunnel, originally built in the 1960s to assist the Soviet invasion, is a key link between north and south Afghanistan. Initially, at least 19 people were reported killed. The Health Ministry’s spokesman also said that 37 people were injured. Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai expressed his condolences in a tweet.