(MENAFN- The Peninsula) A suicide bomber killed three Turkish engineers and wounded another one yesterday in eastern Afghanistan, the latest attack on foreigners in the war-torn country.
It came after the US and the Taliban sealed a dramatic prisoner swap that saw soldier Bowe Bergdahl released for five senior insurgent figures, raising hopes for peace as foreign forces prepare to withdraw.
"Around 7.15am, a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-packed motorbike targeting a minibus belonging to Turkish engineers in Behsud district of Nangarhar province," Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, a spokesman for the provincial governor said.
"As a result of this attack, three Turkish engineers were killed and the fourth one was wounded."
Abdulzai said the victims were working on a construction project in Nangarhar and were travelling to work when their minibus were targeted.
Hazrat Hussain Mashriqiwal, spokesman for the Nangarhar police chief, said an Afghan child was also injured.
Turkey has 459 soldiers in the Nato-led forces in Afghanistan. The Turkish foreign ministry denounced what it called "a cowardly terrorist act" and called for those responsible quickly to be brought to justice.
There was no claim of responsibility for the attack. The Taliban, who announced their spring offensive in early May, were not immediately reachable for comment. The attack comes as Afghanistan is in the middle of presidential elections, with former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah and ex-World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani due to compete in a head-to-head run-off vote on June 14.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.