Suicide bomber kills 14 in Kabul minibus attack

Suicide bomber kills 14 in Kabul minibus attack claimed by Taleban

A suicide bomber killed at least 14 people in an attack on a minibus carrying Nepalese security guards in Kabul early Monday (June 20), Afghan officials said.

"Initial report of today's terrorist attack in Kabul 14 killed and eight wounded. Police are working to ID victims," interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqui said on Twitter.

A Taleban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed responsibility for the attack on social media, claiming it was "against the forces of aggression" in Afghanistan.

The bombing, carried out by a suicide bomber on foot according to police, occurred just before 6:00 am (9:30am Singapore time) in the east of the Kabul along the main road to the eastern city of Jalalabad.

It was the first attack in the capital since the start of the holy fasting month of Ramadan two weeks ago.

The last attack in the Afghan capital on April 19 left 64 dead and more than 340 wounded.

That attack was also claimed by the Taleban, who have been waging an insurgency against the Western-backed Kabul government since they were ousted from power by a US-led invasion in late 2001.

Washington recently announced an expansion of the US military's authority to conduct air strikes against the Taleban, significantly boosting Afghan forces who have limited close air-support capacities.

US forces have been in an advisory role in Afghanistan since the start of 2015 and were only authorised to hit Taliban targets for defensive reasons, or to protect Afghan soldiers.

The changes mean US troops can now work more closely with local fighters in striking the Taleban, who have demanded the departure of all foreign forces.

Suicide bomber kills at least 14 in Afghan capital

Police in Bangladesh on Sunday shot dead an Islamist militant wanted for the killings of several liberal bloggers and gay rights activists, a senior official said.

The militant, identified as Sharif, one of the leaders of the banned group Ansar Ullah Bangla Team, took part in the killing of blogger Avijit Roy, a US citizen of Bangladeshi origin, in Dhaka last year, police official Abdul Baten said.

Sharif was also behind the killing of two gay rights activists in April, as well as four other bloggers and a publisher, the police officer told a news conference.

Bangladesh, a deeply religious but moderate Muslim-majority country of 160 million people, is struggling to control attacks by Islamist groups on bloggers critical of extremism, atheists and religious minorities.

This month the government, facing growing pressure from an international community alarmed by the spate of attacks, launched a crackdown across the country under which more than 11,000 people have been arrested.

A 19-year-old suspected Islamist militant was killed in a shootout on Saturday, days after he critically wounded a Hindu college teacher, police said.

Police officer Baten said Sharif was killed in a gun battle that erupted following a raid on a militant hideout on the outskirts of Dhaka.

"During the pre-dawn raid, our personnel had to open fire after three suspected militants on a motorbike started firing at them," he said, adding that Sharif died in the gunfight while two others fled.

Rights groups and opposition parties say hundreds of innocent people have been taken into police custody as part of the crackdown.