The militants had vowed revenge for the hanging on May 8 of six Taliban prisoners convicted of terrorism offences, as part of a tougher security policy in retaliation for an April suicide attack in Kabul in which 64 people were killed.
Advertisement
At least one policeman and five civilians were killed Wednesday when a group of Taliban suicide bombers and gunmen stormed an appeals court in Afghanistan’s eastern Ghazni province, police officials said.
The Taliban have a presence in different districts in Kunduz and usually target Afghan security forces in their attacks. Salangi says police are also attempting to defuse an explosives-packed vehicle parked near the courthouse. However, police gunned them down before they could blow themselves up.
But a rise in Afghanistan in the number of militants claiming allegiance to Islamic State, a hard-line Sunni movement that emphasizes purging Shi’ites and is a rival to the Taliban, has coincided with a number of attacks on Hazaras.
The Taliban insurgents briefly captured the provincial capital of Kunduz past year but it was retaken by the Afghan security forces.
Three local employees of an worldwide aid organization affiliated with the Aga Khan Development Network were shot and killed by gunmen in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, officials said.
Three other policemen, who were Mr Khan’s bodyguards were injured in the blast, said Mr Qaderi.
Wednesday’s attacks followed only a day after the Taliban ambushed three buses in Kunduz, forcing passengers to disembark.
Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesperson for the Taliban, said that four buses carrying around 200 people were stopped by their fighters in Ali Abad District in Kunduz province on Tuesday. He added that 10 of the hostages were later released but that the abductors still have eight people.
Advertisement
Jihadis also launched attacks in southern Helmand province.
