5 detained over Kunduz suicide bombing

KUNDUZ CITY (PAN): Five people were detained in connection with Saturday’s suicide attack in the northern province of Kunduz, officials said on Sunday.

Counterterrorism and traffic police officers were among 10 people killed and 19 others wounded on Saturday evening when the bomber detonated his suicide vest in the main square of Kunduz City.

Qari Ziaul Haq, hailing from Chahardara district, allegedly carried out the attack. Security personnel detained his father, uncle and brother, the provincial police chief, Brig. Gen. Khalil Andrabi, told Pajhwok Afghan News.

The Taliban had asserted responsibility for the attack, saying a fighter, Mohammad Ismail, hailing from Ghazni province, carried out the bombing.

According to Andrabi, two more people, including Qari Abdullah from the Dasht-i-Archi district of Kunduz, have also been arrested in connection with the assault.

Abdullah confessed in primary interrogation that he was born in Pakistan and was trained for suicide attacks for two years in the country, he added.

“They would administer us orange-colour tablets and four injections in the neck to prepare us for suicide attacks,” Andrabi quoted Abdullah as saying.

The bomber’s father phoned police that his son wanted to conduct a suicide attack. But before his call, his son had blown himself up, Andrabi said.

At a joint press conference, Gen. Abdul Momin, the provincial chief of the National Directorate of Security (NDS), said they had already warned of the attack in Kunduz. The arrests reflected security personnel’s efforts, he concluded.

myn/mud

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