16 killed as suicide bomber attack funeral for Taliban victims
A suicide bomber struck a funeral in Afghanistan for the
victims of an earlier Taliban attack, killing 16 people and wounding 39, an
Afghan official said.
The attack took place in eastern Laghman province, according
to the local governor's spokesman, Sarhadi Zwak. No one immediately claimed
responsibility for the bombing but the blame is likely to fall on the Taliban
who have staged similar attacks in the past, reports AP.
Also, the bombing came on the heels of a spate of Taliban
attacks across Afghanistan overnight and on Thursday morning that killed at
least 17 people.
The insurgents have been increasingly targeting local police
and Afghan forces, inflicting heavy civilian casualties as well, after most
foreign combat troops withdrew from the country at the end of last month.
The bomber at the funeral in Mihtarlam mingled with the
mourners gathered for the funeral for a police commander and three other people
killed earlier in the day in a roadside bombing, then blew himself up. The
roadside bombing also took place in Mihtarlam and officials said the Taliban
were behind that attack.
Zwak, the provincial spokesman, said police investigations
chief Khlil Nyazi was among the 16 killed at the funeral, along with three
other police officers. Three policemen were also among the 39 wounded.
Late Wednesday, Taliban insurgents in the central Ghazni
province attacked a checkpoint in Andar district, killing 11 members of a
pro-government militia that was manning the post and wounding six.
As the militia fought back, six insurgents were killed and
seven were wounded, according to Mohammad Ali Ahmadi, deputy governor in
Ghazni.
The province's deputy police chief, Asadullha Ensafi, said
the insurgents had inside information from one of their own who had managed to
infiltrate the volunteer militia last year.
In a message, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed
responsibility for the attack on the checkpoint.
Also Thursday, in the district of Sayed Abad in Wardak
province east of the capital, Kabul, Taliban fighters dragged two villagers
from their home and killed them, according to spokesman Attaullha Khugyani.
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