A suicide bomber on a motorbike detonated himself near a bazaar in Afghanistan’s northern Parwan province on Tuesday, killing six and wounding 26 others (NYT, Reuters). The bomber was targeting the police headquarters, according to Mohammad Sayed Seddiqi, administrative chief of Siagird district. No policemen were killed, but at least one officer was among the wounded. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
Sons of late Taliban founder appointed to leadership council
Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, son of late Taliban founder Mullah Omar, was appointed on Monday as head of the group’s military commission for 15 provinces of Afghanistan (Reuters). According to Taliban spokesman Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, Yaqoob and his brother, Mullah Abdul Manan, were both called to sit on the Taliban’s leadership council, the Rahbari Shura. Members of the late founder’s family had initially claimed the leadership for Yaqoob after the discovery of Mullah Omar’s death, but agreed to swear allegiance to current Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour after he agreed to a list of their demands last year.
Afghan warlord changes conditions for peace in Afghanistan
Notorious Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar dropped one of his conditions for ending his war with the Afghan government, according to an associate of his group, the Hezb-i-Islami Party (NYT). According to Amin Karim, an official of the party, Hekmatyar, the party’s leader, is no longer demanding that all foreign troops leave Afghanistan. President Ashraf Ghani welcomed the shift in a statement, noting if the warlord joins the peace process, Hezb-i-Islami will be "the first group to walk through the gate.” Hekmatyar has been at war with the Afghan government for over 40 years, and his followers are responsible for the deaths of thousands.