20 Killed, 50 Wounded in Northern Afghanistan Funeral Bombing

MP Among Slain in Takhar Province Suicide Attack

At least 20 people were killed today and another 50 were wounded in a suicide bomb attack against a funeral procession in the city of Taloqan, in Afghanistan’s northern Takhar Province.

The funeral was for a top tribal leader, and MP Mutalib Bik was reportedly among the slain. Security officials say that Bik, who was the former provincial police chief, was likely the target of the attack, and that all the rest of the victims were civilians.

So far no group has claimed credit for the attack, but officials condemned the Taliban for the incident, pointing to Bik’s history of leading anti-Taliban offensives in Afghanistan’s far north.

Attacks in Takhar have been rare through the decade-long NATO occupation, but several have happened in the past few months as the Taliban has gained a foothold in the area, which before the invasion was mostly outside of their control.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.