ISLAMABAD: A bomb exploded on Thursday in Afghanistan's northeastern Badakhshan province killing a former Taliban police official. The official identified as Safiullah Samim, was killed during a memorial ceremony for a deputy governor who was killed in another blast two days earlier.
Samim, Taliban’s former police chief for northern Baghlan province, was among those killed in the blast during the funeral ceremony, as per the information given by Moazuddin Ahmadi, the provincial director of information and culture. He said there are casualties and an investigation is ongoing.
The latest explosion occurred near Nabawi mosque during a funeral for Mawlavi Nisar Ahmad Ahmadi, the deputy governor of Badakhshan.
Ahmadi was killed by a bomb placed in a car on Tuesday, along with his driver in Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan. Ten people were also wounded in the blast.
Local sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said that the latest blast happened inside the mosque where Taliban officials and local people were present, killing at least 13 people including Samim.
The Islamic State group had claimed responsibility for Tuesday's car bombing.
Ahmadi was wounded in the explosion and died shortly after at a local hospital, according to the director of the information and culture in Badakhshan.
In December, a car bombing killed Badakhshan's provincial police chief as he made his way to work.
The regional affiliate of the Islamic State group known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province said at the time that it had carried out that attack. IS said it had parked an explosive-laden car on the road and detonated it when the police chief was close by.