An explosion hit Faizabad, the capital of northeastern Badakhshan province, early on Wednesday, 7 October, near the provincial police headquarters, with sharply conflicting accounts of the casualties.
Ehsanullah Kamgar, spokesman for ا.ا.ا police command in Badakhshan, said explosives concealed in a flowerpot went off beside a Toyota Corolla in the city's Hangar area. He said two civilians travelling in the car suffered minor injuries, four suspects had been arrested and an investigation was under way.
The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF), an armed group opposed to ا.ا.ا, claimed responsibility. In a statement, it said its fighters had targeted a vehicle carrying ا.ا.ا members at about 8:30 a.m., killing four people including a commander it did not name. The claim has not been independently verified and contradicts the police account.
Local sources told media outlets that the blast occurred where day labourers usually gather in the morning, and that ا.ا.ا forces fired into the air to keep people away from the scene. The same sources said more than 40 people were detained after the incident, far more than the four arrests announced by police.
The explosion is the latest in a string of security incidents in Faizabad in recent days. On Sunday, 4 October, a bomb planted on a motorcycle in the city's sixth district targeted ا.ا.ا intelligence staff. The National Resistance Front later claimed that attack, and ا.ا.ا confirmed that one intelligence employee had been killed.
Source: Xinhua, KabulNow, Khaama Press, Afghanistan International
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