Ten killed in Afghan suicide bombing

[News_Editor]

Ten killed in Afghan suicide bombing

2011-04-13 21:12:58 GMT+7 (ICT)

KUNAR, AFGHANISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- At least 10 people, including Afghan tribal elders, were killed on Wednesday when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a local council meeting in eastern Kunar province, officials said.

Pro-government tribal elder Malik Zarin was killed and seven others were wounded during the pre-noon explosion in the Jamjami area of Asmar district, the provincial police chief, Brig. Gen. Khalilullah Ziyaee, told Pajhwok Afghan News. Zarin's son and grandson were also killed in the attack, while his brother and another grandson were among the injured.

A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said they had no role in the bomb attack on Zarin, who had survived a number of previous assassination attempts. Zarin was a famous military commander during the war against the Soviet occupation and one of President Hamid Karzai's key aides.

President Karzai's office condemned the attack and remembered Zarin as a jihadi commander who was trying to solve the problems of the people of Kunar and bring ethnic peace.

The International Security Assistance Force also joined the President of Afghanistan and Ministry of Interior in condemning the suicide attack.

"ISAF strongly condemns the senseless murder of village leaders working toward a better future for the people of Afghanistan," said Rear Admiral Hal Pittman, ISAF Deputy Chief of Staff for Communication. "This attack demonstrates how desperate insurgents are to prevent progress by targeting Afghanistan's traditional leaders and elders."

Kunar, near the border with Pakistan, is one of Afghanistan's most restive provinces.

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