- Reaction score
- 1,292
- Points
- 940
Article Link
KABUL - A suicide bomber wearing a police uniform blew himself up during a meeting at a provincial governor's compound Saturday in northern Afghanistan, killing two NATO troops and four Afghans and wounding the top German commander in the country, officials said.
German Defence Minister Thomas de Maiziere said Saturday night in Berlin that two German troops were killed and three wounded, including Gen. Markus Kneip, the NATO force's commander for northern Afghanistan.
The bomber detonated his explosives vest in a room in the governor's office complex in Takhar province where high-ranking Afghan officials were meeting with members of the international coalition, said Faiz Mohammad Tawhedi, a spokesman for the governor. The governor, Abdul Jabar Taqwa, suffered burns to his head, hands and back.
"What we know is the guy who carried out the attack had a police uniform on," Tawhedi said. "How he entered the meeting room and why he was not searched, we don't know."
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the late afternoon attack — the latest in an uptick of violence as the Islamic extremist movement has launched its spring offensive. The effectiveness of the Taliban's campaign could affect the size of President Barack Obama's planned drawdown of U.S. troops in July.
More at link
KABUL - A suicide bomber wearing a police uniform blew himself up during a meeting at a provincial governor's compound Saturday in northern Afghanistan, killing two NATO troops and four Afghans and wounding the top German commander in the country, officials said.
German Defence Minister Thomas de Maiziere said Saturday night in Berlin that two German troops were killed and three wounded, including Gen. Markus Kneip, the NATO force's commander for northern Afghanistan.
The bomber detonated his explosives vest in a room in the governor's office complex in Takhar province where high-ranking Afghan officials were meeting with members of the international coalition, said Faiz Mohammad Tawhedi, a spokesman for the governor. The governor, Abdul Jabar Taqwa, suffered burns to his head, hands and back.
"What we know is the guy who carried out the attack had a police uniform on," Tawhedi said. "How he entered the meeting room and why he was not searched, we don't know."
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the late afternoon attack — the latest in an uptick of violence as the Islamic extremist movement has launched its spring offensive. The effectiveness of the Taliban's campaign could affect the size of President Barack Obama's planned drawdown of U.S. troops in July.
More at link