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First major Taliban attack since power transition

August 6, 2015

A Taliban suicide bomber has killed at least six people in eastern Afghanistan in the first big attack since the group confirmed the death of its head Mullah Omar. The militants are now facing an internal power struggle.

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Symbolbild Taliban
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Karimi

A suicide bomber blew up a truck loaded with explosives outside provincial government offices in a province south of the capital, Kabul, on Thursday, killing at least six people and wounding several more, officials said.

The Taliban issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack, which occurred at a police compound in Pul-i-Alam, the capital of the eastern province of Logar.

At least three police officers were reported to be among those killed.

Karte Afghanistan Logar Pul-i-Alam

The Interior Ministry said the bombing was the first suicide attack since the Taliban last week confirmed the death of their longtime leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, who had headed the militant group for some 20 years

Taliban infighting

The Taliban is facing internal rifts after Mullah Akhtar Mansour was announced on Friday as the new head of the group, which has been waging an insurgency against the government in Kabul since shortly after being ousted as the country's rulers in 2001 by a US-led invasion.

The power struggle is likely to hobble a tenuous peace process aimed at ending the long war. A second round of talks scheduled for last Friday was canceled after the announcement of Omar's death.

The security situation in Afghanistan has become even more fragile, with Afghan security forces facing their first summer fighting season without full NATO support.

US-led NATO forces ended their combat mission in the country in December. A 13,000-strong international force has, however, remained in the country to assist in training and counter-terrorism operations.

A United Nations report on Wednesday said that civilian casualties in Afghanistan hit a record high in the first half of 2015, as the Taliban insurgency spreads north from the group's traditional bases in the south and east.

tj/sms (AFP, AP)