JALALABAD – At least 13 people were killed and 39 injured in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Kunar on Saturday during an attack targeting a tribal chief, officials said.
The incident occurred at 9:30 am in Asadabad, the provincial capital of restive Kunar, when a suicide bomber riding a motorcycle detonated explosives in a market.
Ghani Mosamem, a spokesman for Kunar’s governor, confirmed that 13 people were killed, including local tribal chief Haji Khan Jan, and 39 injured in the attack.
Earlier on Saturday, Sayed Maqsood Pacha, the deputy provincial police chief, confirmed that Haji Khan Jan was the intended target of Saturday’s attack. Jan was a prominent pro-government figure in Kunar and was renowned for participating in an uprising targeting Taliban insurgents.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast. AFP was unable to reach the Taliban’s spokesman for comment.