KANDAHAR: Four Taliban rebels were killed when their ammunition exploded during a wedding party they attended as special guests in a southern Afghan village, police said on Saturday.

Eight other Islamic rebels were injured in the blast in southern Zabul province late on Friday, provincial police chief Mohammad Yaqoub said. It was not yet known what triggered the blast, he added.

“There was a wedding party and a group of Taliban was also attending as special guests. For some reason an explosion took place in the room they had gathered,” Yaqoub said.

“In that blast four Taliban were killed and eight others were injured,” the police commander said, citing information provided to his officers by the local villagers on Saturday. Police were investigating, he added.

The Taliban, ousted from power under a US-led invasion months after the September 11, 2001 attacks on US cities, are waging a bloody insurgency which has intensified this year.

A British think-tank said in a controversial report last month that the extremist rebels have a presence in more than half of Afghan territory despite the efforts of 55,000 international troops helping Afghan forces.—AFP