Blast Hits Taliban Vehicle In Eastern Afghanistan

Members of the Taliban at the site of an earlier blast in Jalalabad that took place on September 18

A blast targeted a Taliban vehicle in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad on September 19, local media reported, a day after at least three people were killed in a series of explosions in the area.

Initial reports says at least five people, including a child, were killed in the latest attack. Witnesses said that unspecified number of wounded Taliban fighters were taken to hospital after the explosion.

An overhead powerline was also damaged by the blast, causing an electricity outage in the area, local news websites said.

According to the eyewitnesses, the blast targeted a vehicle of the border police, which is now run by the Taliban.

No further details were immediately available and there was no immediate comment from the Taliban.

On September 18, three explosions killed at least three people and wounded 19 others in Jalalabad, the provincial capital of Nangarhar, in what was described as the first deadly attack in Afghansitan since the Taliban gained control of the country more than a month ago.

Witnesses and a member of the Taliban-led government were quoted as saying that at least one of the blasts hit a pickup truck carrying Taliban fighters.

No one claimed responsibility for the blasts.

Nangarhar is the heartland of the Islamic State extremist group's local branch, Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), which is an enemy of Afghanistan’s new rulers.

The Taliban and IS-K extremists fought each other even before the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan last month.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP