At least 15 people were killed when a bomb exploded Thursday at a memorial service in Afghanistan’s northeastern Badakhshan province, local media reported.
According to Abdul Nafi Takor, Taliban-appointed Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor, a former Taliban police officer was among the dead, and more than 30 people were injured in an explosion near a Nabawi mosque, which put the death toll at 11.
Takor added that there were fears that the death toll could rise as more information became available.
The blast appears to have been aimed at a memorial service for Nisar Ahmad Ahmadi, the deputy governor of Badakhshan, who died Tuesday in a car bombing.
The attack in Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan, also killed the driver of the deputy governor and injured 10 others.
Moazuddin Ahmadi, the Taliban spokesman in charge of information and culture, confirmed Thursday’s bombing and killing of Safiullah Samim, the former Taliban police chief in Baghlan.
There was no immediate claim for responsibility for Thursday’s attack. The terrorist group Daesh, the Taliban’s main rival, claimed responsibility for the car bombing on Tuesday.
Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack, stating on Twitter that the mosque bombings are an act of “terrorism” and “contrary to human and Islamic standards.”
Ahmadi’s funeral, which took place on Wednesday, was attended by several senior Taliban officials, as well as hundreds of Faizabad residents.
Taliban military commander Fasihuddin Fitrat condemned the ISIS attacks in Badakhshan and urged people to cooperate with Taliban security forces and report suspicious activity in their areas.
In December, a car bomb killed the chief of the Badakhshan provincial police while on his way to work.
Daesh’s regional affiliate, known as Daesh in Khorasan Province, said at the time that the attack was carried out by them.
IS said it parked a car bomb on the road and blew it up while the police chief was nearby.
