Afghan officials and civilians killed in Taliban bombing

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“In suicide attacks the killing of innocent people and damage to their property should be minimized.” –Chapter 7, Taliban ‘Code of Conduct’

KABUL — A Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up outside a mosque in eastern Afghanistan on September 2, killing the deputy head of Afghan intelligence and more than 20 other people, officials said.

The bomber detonated his explosives in a crowd outside the main mosque in Mihtarlam, the capital of Laghman province. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack and said the deputy chief of Afghanistan's intelligence agency was the target.

"Abdullah Laghmani is among the dead," provincial governor Lutfullah Mashal confirmed at a news conference in Mihtarlam.

The attack killed 22 people, including 18 civilians. Among the dead are the head of the provincial council, the provincial chief executive and the provincial government's former head of religious affairs.

A witness in the provincial capital, about 100 km east of Kabul told Reuters he saw a pick-up truck carrying wounded people covered in blood. A total of eight ambulances transporting the wounded were reported seen by witnesses. Dr Ahmad Farid Raaid of the Afghan Health Ministry initially confirmed that at least 10 bodies had been brought into hospitals with 36 wounded, but warned that the death toll was likely to rise. "There are women and children among the wounded as well," he said. A government spokesman said the bomber blew himself up as people were leaving the mosque following a meeting about boosting community participation in counter-narcotics operations and security efforts.

[Reuters/Al-Arabiya]