Five people have been killed and 40 injured in a suicide bombing in eastern Afghanistan on July 12 that local officials say was carried out by a minor.
The bomber targeted a tribal elder and a local police chief at a wedding in Nagarhar province, local government spokesman Attaullah Khugyani said.
It is not yet clear why the attack was carried out or how old the minor was.
‘Child used’ in Afghan suicide attack https://t.co/ND5iZ2sw3T
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) July 12, 2019
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mojahid denied responsibility for the attack in a message to media on Friday.
The attack comes as closed door peace talks reached a breakthrough on July 9 when a group of prominent Afghans, including some government officials acting in a personal capacity unofficially agreed on a roadmap with the Taliban as to how they might get towards a peace deal.
Child suicide bomber kills five at a wedding in Afghanistan https://t.co/MHBAAwD5gy
— The Independent (@Independent) July 12, 2019
The United States has been in on-again, off-again peace talks with the Taliban for months but the development is the first time Afghans have made an agreement of this nature.
And it comes after weeks of direct talks between the Taliban and the United States about the terms and pace of a troop withdrawal. The Taliban always insisted direct talks with the Americans must come first, and Washington has until recently resisted.
