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Taleban bomber targets Afghan governor, kills two

KABUL - A Taleban suicide bomber targeted a provincial governor in northern Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing two civilians and wounding another two, the interior ministry said.

The attack struck the usually peaceful province of Parwan, when the bomber tried to enter the compound of governor Basir Salangi.

“At around 10:45am (0615 GMT) Tuesday, a suicide bomber detonated himself in front of the gate of the Parwan governor’s compound. As a result, two civilians including a women were martyred and two others injured,” the ministry said.

Interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi said it was not immediately clear why the attacker hit the entrance but that he may have been targeting a car coming out of the compound which he mistakenly thought was the governor’s.

The attack came one day before US President Barack Obama is to announce the size of a drawdown of US troops from Afghanistan, mapping out an endgame for a 10-year war that has exacted a fearsome human and financial toll.

The Taliban, leading a nearly 10-year insurgency against the Kabul government and the 130,000 US-led foreign troops in Afghanistan, claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing.

The militia is traditionally active in southern and eastern parts of the country but attacks are increasing in the north and west.

In May, the region’s police commander, General Mohammad Daud Daud, was killed along with two German soldiers.

Elsewhere in Afghanistan, three policemen were killed by a landmine blast while out on patrol Monday in the southern province of Uruzgan, said Amanullah Hotaki, the chief of the local provincial council.

Also Monday, two men — one a shopkeeper and another a foreign forces contractor — were shot dead in the southern city of Kandahar, police said.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yosuf Ahmadi took responsibility for all the attacks.

The Taliban frequently target Afghan officials, security forces and those with ties to foreign forces in Afghanistan.

Limited withdrawals of some of the 130,000 international troops are due to start in July. All foreign combat forces are due to leave by the end of 2014.