<p>KANDAHAR CITY (Pajhwok): An Afghan army general was killed in a roadside bombing that ripped through his vehicle in the Shah Walikot district of southern Kandahar province on Thursday, officials said.</p>
<p>Muhsin Sultani, public relations officer of the Afghan National Army’s 205 Atal Corps, confirmed the killing of Gen. Basir Shahrwand, the corps first battalion commander, but did not give more details.</p>
<p>However, Samim Khpalwak, the Kandahar governor’s spokesman, told Pajhwok Afghan News Gen. Shaharwan had gone to Shah Walikot district to reopen the Kandahar-Uruzgan Road, when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb.</p>
<p>The incident happened this afternoon and the body of Shahrwand had been brought to the Atal Corps headquarters by helicopter from Shah Walikot district, he said.</p>
<p>The <a href="/en/taliban" class="glossify-link">Taliban</a> claimed responsibility for the bomb attack, with the group’s spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi saying Shahrwand had been killed along with other military officials.</p>
<p>A clearing operation to reopen the Kandahar-Uruzgan road is underway, but traffic on the highway could not be restored days after the operation was launched in the area.</p>
<p>nh/ma</p>
