[naviga:h3]Truck bombing victims mourned[/naviga:h3]

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghans today mourned the loss of family members, friends and colleagues a day after a massive truck bomb in the capital left at least 90 people dead and more than 450 others wounded in one of the worst extremist attacks since the drawdown of foreign forces from Afghanistan in 2014.

Scores of people waited in hospitals to learn the status of family members and friends wounded in Wednesday’s attack.

The bomber drove into Kabul’s heavily guarded diplomatic quarter during the morning rush, leaving behind chaos and destruction. Most of the casualties were civilians, including women and children, but the dead also included Afghan security guards.

There was no claim of responsibility.

The explosives were hidden in a tanker truck used to clean out septic systems. The trucks are common in Kabul, a city of nearly four million with no sewage system that mostly depends on septic tanks, and open sewers are common.

[naviga:h3]Bomb accidentally drops from plane[/naviga:h3]

MARAWI, Philippines — A Philippine bomber plane accidentally killed 11 soldiers and injured seven others, security officials said today, as troops struggled to end a bloody siege by 500 Islamic State group-aligned extremists in a southern city, one of the boldest militant attacks in Southeast Asia in years.

The plane was making a bombing run over militant positions in Marawi city on Wednesday when one bomb accidentally hit army troops locked in close battle with extremists who had taken cover in buildings and houses, military spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said.

The plane had made three successful bombing runs before making the error, he said.

“It’s painful, it’s very sad to be hitting our own troops,” Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said.

[naviga:h3]China smokers don’t plan to quit[/naviga:h3]

BEIJING — Most smokers in China, the world’s largest tobacco consumer, have no intention of kicking the habit and remain unaware of some of its most damaging health effects, Chinese health officials and outside researchers said Wednesday.

An estimated 316 million people smoke in China, almost a quarter of the population, and concerns are growing about the long-term effects on public health and the economy.

The vast majority of smokers are men, of whom 59 percent told surveyors that they have no plans to quit, according to a decade-long study by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Canadian researchers with the International Tobacco Control project.