A suicide bomber struck outside government buildings in northern Afghanistan on Monday, killing at least 14 people including a senior local politician, officials said.
Emergency services rushed to the scene and took the wounded to hospital after the bomber, who was wearing a police uniform, blew himself up in the centre of Pul-e-Khumri, the capital of Baghlan province.
“I collected information from different hospitals and the death toll is 14. Another nine people are wounded,” said Zubair Akbary, the provincial public health director.
Police said that the bomber, who was on foot, had targeted Rasoul Mohseni, head of Baghlan’s provincial council, an elected body in each of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces that liaises between residents and the local government.
Also among the dead were seven police guards and several other people who were at the government buildings to speak to Mohseni.
“The suicide bombing was in front of the provincial council building in the city of Pul-e-Khumri,” said Sadeq Muradi, Baghlan province’s deputy police chief.
Khalil Musadeq, the chief of the Pul-e-Khumri hospital, confirmed that at least 11 people, including Mohseni, were killed in the blast.
