Kabul: Six people were killed yesterday when a Taliban suicide truck bomber struck a police compound in Afghanistan, in the first major insurgent attack since the announcement of leader Mullah Omar's death.
The bombing coincides with a faltering peace process, with the Taliban confronted by an increasingly bitter power transition after Mullah Akhtar Mansour was made the new leader last Friday.
"A water truck filled with explosives was detonated when it was stopped at the gate of the Quick Reaction Force (police) compound," deputy provincial police chief Mohammad Qari Wara said. "It was a powerful explosion which killed three members of the Quick Reaction Force and three civilians."
Baheer, an official from the provincial governor's office, confirmed the death toll, adding that eight civilians, including a child, were wounded.
The force of the explosion damaged government buildings near the site, which was littered with debris and shards of broken glass.
The Afghan interior ministry said yesterday's bombing was the first suicide attack since the Taliban confirmed last week the death of their leader Mullah Omar, who led the militant movement for some 20 years.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, with spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claiming that a "Mazda truck packed with heavy explosives... killed more than 100 security personnel".
Taliban insurgents routinely exaggerate the death toll in attacks on Afghan government and military targets.
But in a rare admission, Mujahid said "some civilians may have been wounded as a result of broken glass".
A UN report said last Wednesday Afghan forces were struggling to contain the expanding conflict six months after the Nato combat mission ended.
The report said 1,592 civilians were killed, a six percent fall from last year, but the number of injured jumped four percent to 3,329. The casualties have reached their highest level since the UN began issuing its authoritative reports in 2009.
Since December a 13,000-strong residual Nato force remains for training and counter-terrorism operations.
AFP
