Afghan Market Bombing Kills 6

A bombing in a market in northern Afghanistan killed six people on Thursday, including a young girl, while a separate attack in the east killed a local police commander and his bodyguard, officials said.



The attack in the market was aimed at a police car but the police escaped unharmed, said Sonatullah Timor, the spokesman for the Takhar provincial government. The bomb, which was placed on a motorcycle, wounded 26 people, including children, he said.



It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack, but Taliban insurgents frequently target the country's security forces, AP reported.



In a separate incident, a suicide bomber detonated his payload at a checkpoint in the eastern Nangarhar province, killing a local police commander and his bodyguard, according to police spokesman Hazrat Hussain Mashraqiwal. He said the bomber shook hands with the commander before the explosion. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a media statement.