Takhar blast not a suicide attack: NDS

KABUL) said on Monday.

A joint team of NDS and Ministry of Interior officials found it was not a suicide attack, and the remote-controlled device had been placed in a corridor of the compound, the spy service said.

The huge blast in Taloqan, capital of Takhar province, killed four Afghan police officials, including two senior commanders, and two German soldiers. Nine officials, including the provincial governor, were wounded.

Gen. Mohammad Daud Daud, the 303rd Pamir Zone police commander, and Brig. Gen. Shah Jehan Noori, the provincial police chief, were among the dead.

Efforts at identifying the perpetrators were underway and further information in this regard would be released in due course of time, the NDS said a statement.

Governor Abdul Jabbar Taqwa said on Sunday the government had prior information regarding the suicide attack, which was planned abroad. They had received an intelligence tip about the attack and the bomber’s mobile phone number, Taqwa claimed.

Nine officials, including Taqwa and NATO‘s German commander Gen. Markus Kneip, were wounded. The investigation would show who carried out the attack, Taqwa told Pajhwok Afghan News.

As usual, the Taliban asserted responsibility for the attack. The militants claimed that in addition to the police commander, some foreigners and high-ranking Afghan officials were also killed.

frm/mud

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