Taliban bombing kills 21 in northern Afghanistan

A Taliban attack killed at least 21 people in northern Afghanistan, officials said on Sunday, after a wave of lethal bombings in the capital as the insurgency escalates following a bitter power transition.

The Afghan interior ministry said all those killed last evening in the Khanabad district of Kunduz province were civilians, although local officials called them anti-Taliban militiamen. 

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes after a barrage of bombings in Kabul killed at least 51 people on Saturday, the deadliest day for the capital in years.

“The incident took place (when) a suicide bomber detonated his suicide vest in Khanabad district,” the interior ministry said, strongly condemning the “heinous act”.

“The suicide attack...resulted in <g data-gr-id="18">martyrdom</g> of 21 civilians and wounding <g data-gr-id="16">of </g>10 others.” But Abdul Wadood Wahidi, spokesman for the governor of Kunduz, said 22 militiamen –including four of their commanders –were killed by an improvised explosive device.