News / Afghanistan

Five Taliban militants killed in Afghanistan explosion

Thursday, 11 June 2015 5:59 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 12 June 2015 2:48 AM ]

File photo shows a general view of a government complex after a bomb attack in Zabul in southeast Afghanistan on May 25, 2015. © AFP

A truck explosion in southeast Afghanistan has left at least five Taliban militants dead and four civilians injured, Press TV reports.

The spokesman for the Maidan Wardak Governorate said on Thursday that the truck exploded at the residence of a senior Taliban commander in the town of Bandchak.

Ataollah Khogiani said the explosion occurred inside the house of Qari Mohammad, who is also known as Motaqi in the area.

He said the Taliban commander had intended to detonate the booby-trapped truck inside a major government building in the city, but it went off inside Motaqi’s own house, killing him and four other militants. A woman and three children in the house were wounded in the blast.

The powerful explosion reportedly inflicted damage on the properties of people living in the surroundings.

Earlier in the day, Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry announced that at least 170 people have been killed in clashes between security forces and Taliban militants over the past 24 hours.

The fierce clashes were reported to have taken place in various provinces, including Kabul, Khost, Ghazni, Paktika, Urozgan , Daykundi, Kandahar , Badghis, Badakhshan Sar-e Pol , Kunduz and Helmand.

The Afghan government has been engaged in a fierce fighting with the militants as Taliban has intensified its attacks on civilians and security forces as part of its spring offensive.

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