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Afghanistan -

Article published the Sunday 25 December 2011 - Latest update : Sunday 25 December 2011

Suicide bomber attacks Afghan funeral

Fighting continues in Afghanistan, ahead of the pullout by foreign troops by the end of 2014

Reuters/Omar Sobhani

By RFI

A suicide bomber attacked a funeral for a government official in northeastern Afghanistan on Sunday, leaving at least 19 people dead and more than 40 wounded. Among those killed were Abdulmutalib Baig, an Afghan member of parliament.

The attacker detonated his vest during the funeral procession in Taluqan city, the capital of Takhar province.

Takhar’s provincial governor Abdul Jabar Taqwa did not attend the funeral, but told the AFP news agency, “The target was either me or the MP.”

No group claimed responsibility immediately following the attack.

Takhar province is one of the areas to be handed over by Nato to Afghan security forces, ahead of the withdrawal of foreign troops by the end of 2014.

Meanwhile, on Saturday night an Afghan soldier was killed during a gunfight with US troops in Farah province, in the southwestern part of the country.