Taliban suicide bomber kills 29 in northern Afghanistan

A suicide bomber has killed 29 people in Afghanistan, mainly members of illegal armed groups that have clashed with security forces and the insurgents in the past.

“At least 19 pro-government militiamen and three civilians died when a militant struck a gathering with a vehicle bomb in Khan Abad district late Saturday evening”, Xinhua quoted district governor Hayyatullah Amiri as saying.

But Abdul Wadood Wahidi, spokesman for the governor of Kunduz, said 22 militiamen – including four of their commanders – were killed by an improvised explosive device.

Provincial police spokesman Sarwar Hussaini confirmed the incident and said at least 22 personnel of the local militia forces were killed.

The insurgency has been rapidly spreading across the north from its traditional southern and eastern strongholds, with Afghan forces increasingly battling the militants on their own.

The Taliban have stepped up attacks across the country since U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation forces shifted from a combat to a support and training role at the end of past year.

Meanwhile, a separate airstrike carried out by worldwide forces Saturday killed at least 10 suspected insurgents.

The explosions, which devastated buildings and overwhelmed hospitals with hundreds of casualties, were the first major militant assaults on the capital since the announcement of Taliban leader Mullah Omar’s death. The victims had been accused of spying.

He stated a serious operation is underway in Nangarhar aimed toward driving the Taliban out of three districts.

The mobilisation of militias represents a complete departure from previous government efforts to disarm these groups, blamed for devastating Afghanistan during the civil war in the 1990s and setting the stage for a Taliban takeover.