Blast kills Taliban local police chief, wounds 11 in Afghanistan

INTERNATIONAL DESK: A bomb ripped through a vehicle carrying a Taliban police chief in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing him and wounding 11 others, officials said.

The blast happened in Asadabad, the capital of Kunar province, targeting the Taliban police chief for Shigal district, said an official from the militant group.

“The police chief has died and eleven people have been wounded,” he told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

A doctor in Kunar central hospital confirmed to AFP that it had received 11 wounded people, including four Taliban fighters and seven civilians.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack but the Islamic State-Khorasan group, who are active in eastern Afghanistan, have claimed similar attacks on the Taliban in the past.

The Taliban have battled with IS-K since its emergence in Afghanistan in 2014.

IS-K has claimed responsibility for some of the most recent attacks, including a suicide bombing among worshippers last week in a Shia mosque in Kunduz province that killed around 100 people. (AFP)