Afghanistan: Roadside bomb kills 7 in Balkh; 7 hurt in Jalalabad blast

New Delhi: A roadside bomb went off near a bus with government employees during rush hour on Tuesday morning in northern Afghanistan, killing seven people, a Taliban official said.

Mohammad Asif Waziri, the Taliban-appointed spokesman for the police chief in Balkh province, said the bombing in Mazar-e Sharif, the provincial capital, also wounded seven people.

The bomb was placed inside a cart by the side of the road and detonated when a bus belonging to the Hiaratan gas and petroleum department was taking employees to work.

Separately, at least six people were wounded when a bomb exploded at the money exchange market in the city of Jalalabad, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province, according to Abdul Basir Zabuli, a Taliban-appointed spokesman for the provincial police chief.

Zabuli said the bomb was planted near the market and that the wounded were in stable condition, according to a hospital report.

An investigation was underway, he added.

No one claimed responsibility for the bombings in Balkh or Jalalabad, but the regional affiliate of the Islamic State group known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province and a rival of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban has increased its attacks since Taliban takeover in 2021.

Images posted on social media from the scene in Balkh show a damaged bus and another vehicle, along with several carts and fruit stalls lying scattered by the roadside following the explosion.

The bus was later towed away. (With inputs from AP)