A suicide bomber blew up a truck loaded with explosives outside a Quick Reaction Forces Office in Afghanistan's Logar province Thursday morning, killing at least six people and wounding 10 others.
"About 07:00 AM a Dyna truck full of explosives hit quick reaction forces office, and killed three civilians and three military members," Logar provincial council head Hassib Stanikzai told Tolo News.
Provincial officials said that the explosion took place between compounds of the Provincial Council and Quick Reaction Force, and both facilities might be targets.
"The provincial council building is totally destroyed and a part of quick reaction forces office is also damaged," Stanikzai said.
The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack. The Afghan interior ministry acknowledged that Thursday's bombing was the first major Taliban attack since the confirmation of Mullah Omar's death and election of Mullah Akhtar Mansour as the new leader, according to AFP.
The constant internal rift and power struggle in the Taliban has impacted the ongoing peace process with Afghanistan. A second round of talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government scheduled for last Friday was cancelled after the announcement of Omar's death, DW reported.
The Taliban named its new head of political office in Qatar on Wednesday, one day after its former chief called it quits. Senior Talibani leader Sher Muhammad Abbas Stanekzai, the new head of the group's office in Qatar, pledged his allegiance to Mansoor immediately after his appointment.
"I and other members of the Political Office of the Islamic Emirate declare allegiance to the honourable Mullah Akhtar Mansoor. We consider this decision in accordance with Islamic Sharia and will follow his [Mansoor's] instructions. We assure our full support to the new chief," Stanekzai said in a statement, according to Express Tribune.
