Suicide bomber hits Taliban base in South Afghanistan, kills three

Three people have been confirmed killed with 12 injured in a rare suicide bombing in Afghanistan’s political headquarters of Kandahar, Taliban officials have reported.

Inamullah Samangani, Director of Information and Culture of Kandahar province, told journalists that the suicide bombing on Thursday morning which is the first in the city in over two years, took security forces by surprise.

“A suicide attack occurred in which three compatriots were killed and 12 others were wounded, according to preliminary information,” Samangani said.

Authorities report that the victims had gathered outside the officially run New Kabul Bank to receive their salaries when the suicide bomber detonated explosives strapped to his body.

“The explosion targeted a group of people waiting outside the New Kabul Bank branch in Kandahar at around 8:00 am (0330 GMT).

“Commonly our compatriots gather there to collect their salaries. The victims were civilians. The wounded were taken to a local hospital, with some sustaining serious injuries,” Samangani said.

A Taliban Interior Ministry spokesperson in the Afghan capital, Kabul, said the attack was under investigation, noting that so far, no group has claimed responsibility for the deadly bombing.

The city of Kandahar is the historical birthplace of the fundamentalist group and the Taliban leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, lives in city which is unarguably the most protected and fortified city in Afghanistan.

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