Kabul's deputy governor, his secretary killed in 'sticky bomb' attack on car, confirms Afghan official

Kabul: A bombing and a shooting attack on Tuesday in the Afghan capital of Kabul killed at least three, including a deputy provincial governor, officials said. According to Tariq Arian, Afghan interior ministry spokesman, a sticky bomb attached to an armored vehicle belonging to Kabul’s deputy provincial governor killed two people, and wounded two others. The deputy provincial governor and the apparent target of the attack, Mahbobullah Mohibi, was killed alongside his secretary while two of his bodyguards were wounded, Arian said. The bombing took place in the Macrorayan neighbourhood of Kabul. Sima Samar, special presidential envoy and state minister for human rights, tweeted that the “people are tired of terrorist attacks every day”. Samar also urged the Taliban to agree to a “cease-fire to stop the killing and more bloodshed.” In the other attack in Kabul, gunmen shot and killed a police officer and wounded another policeman, said Ferdaws Faramarz, spokesman for Kabul’s police chief. An investigation was ongoing, he added. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the Kabul attacks. The Islamic Sate group has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks in the capital in recent months, including horrific attacks on educational institutions that killed as many as 50 people, most of them students. The Taliban have waged bitter battles against Islamic State fighters, particularly in Islamic State strongholds in eastern Afghanistan, while continuing their insurgency against Afghan government forces. Separately, the Afghan defense ministry said Tuesday the army repelled a Taliban attack in the district of Arghandab, in southern Kandahar province. At least seven Taliban fighters were killed, it claimed. On Monday, the ministry announced authorities were investigating reports that an alleged airstrike over the weekend killed around a dozen civilians, including children in Arghandab. Violence in Afghanistan has spiked in recent months even as the Taliban and Afghan government negotiators meet in Qatar to try and hammer out a peace deal that could put an end to decades of war.