Funeral blast kills 20 in Afghanistan

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 11:11:48 GMT A bomb has exploded during a funeral in northern Afghanistan, leaving at least 20 people dead and 50 others wounded, Press TV reports. ============ At least 20 people killed and 50 injured in bombing in northern province of Takhar. Last Modified: 25 Dec 2011 11:47 inShare 4EmailPrintShareFeedback At least 20 people including an Afghan member of parliament were killed in a suicide attack on a funeral procession in northeast Afghanistan, a police official told Al Jazeera. A further 50 people were injured in Sunday’s attack in the commercial city of Taloqan in Takhar province, according to the deputy police chief of the province. Other officials said the number of casualties was lower. "In a funeral ceremony this afternoon a suicide attacker targeted the gathering killing 15 people including Abdul Mutalib, a member of parliament from Takhar," said Abdul Jabar Taqwa, governor of Takhar province. Takhar police chief, General Khair Mohammad Temor, confirmed the attack in the provincial capital. "A suicide attacker wearing a suicide vest attacked a funeral procession in Taluqan city in Takhar," he said, adding that the death toll may rise. There was no immediate claim of responsibility and the Taliban, who are leading a 10-year insurgency against international and Afghan government forces, were not reachable for comment. Suicide attacks are rare in Takhar province, which is located 250km northeast of Kabul and is considered one the nation's calmer regions. Sayed Ikramuddin Masomi, another parliamentarian from Takhar province, confirmed that Baik had died. "The suicide attacker killed 10 innocent people and unfortunately Abdul Mutaleb Baik was among them," he said in a telephone interview. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. But over the past year, the Taliban have repeatedly struck at prominent government figures. In September, a suicide attacker killed Burhanuddin Rabbani, a former Afghan president and head of the nation's peace council. Suspected fighters killed Meanwhile, the interior ministry said Sunday that security forces killed 30 suspected fighters in a series of clashes around the country. A ministry statement said army, police and NATO troops launched a total of 11 operations in the past 24 hours across the country. It said seven opposition fighters were arrested. Sunday's statement said the fighters who were killed were armed and that weapons were recovered in the operations. Separately, NATO says one of its helicopters crash landed in Nahr-e-Saraj district of Helmand province on Sunday after taking small-arms fire from the ground. There were no injuries among the crew. NATO relies on helicopters to avoid using roads that are frequently mined by the fighters.