KABUL: A roadside bombing killed 11 people in eastern Afghanistan on Friday as they were travelling to a wedding, a local official said.

Also on Friday, five Afghan policemen were killed in fighting with the Taliban in eastern Kapisa province.
Earlier, a policeman turned his rifle on his colleagues as they slept at an outpost in eastern Nangarhar province on Thursday night, killing five.

Those killed by the roadside bomb in Logar province — five women, five children and a man — were all from the same family, said Salim Salleh, the spokesman for the provincial governor of Logar.

Ten policemen die in various attacks

In Kapisa, the Taliban attacked a police checkpoint early on Friday morning, killing five policemen, according to Qais Qaderi, the spokesman for the provincial governor. He said the assault took place in Tagab district, adding that 10 Taliban fighters were also killed, including two commanders.

In the Thursday night attack, district governor, Abdul Wahab Momand, said the policeman shot his colleagues at an outpost in the district of Ghanikhil.

After the shooting, the attacker, who was only identified by one name, Nasratullah, seized all the victims’ firearms and fled the scene, the governor said.

Neither the Taliban nor the militant Islamic State (IS) group, the two militant groups who operate in the area, immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Nangarhar.

There was also no claim of responsibility for the attack in Logar but Salleh, the spokesman, accused the Taliban of planting the roadside bomb.

Afghanistan has the highest number of mine victims in the world. Mines along with roadside bombs kill or wound an estimated 140 people every month.

The Taliban have stepped up their attacks since announcing the launching of their spring offensive last month.

Elsewhere in Afghanistan, a roadside bomb targeted a US militarily convoy in northern Parwan province on Friday, the international mission’s media officer, Doug High, said.

The explosion disabled an armoured vehicle but caused no injuries, High said. After recovering the vehicle, the convoy continued on its mission, he added.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2017