Ten killed Afghan in suicide blast

KABUL: A suicide bomber killed 10 people in an attack on Wednesday on peace talks between tribal elders in Afghanistan's eastern Kunar province, a volatile area where insurgents have gained ground in recent months.

The attack took place in Asmaar district when elders from two tribes, some of them former warlords, were meeting to resolve a local dispute, provincial police chief Khalilullah Ziaee said.

The suicide bomber blew himself up in the middle of the group, targeting former mujahideen commander Mohammad Zarin, who died along with nine others. At least seven people were wounded, Ziaee said.

"It was the work of the Taliban because they do not want elders to work toward peace," Ziaee told Reuters from Kunar.

The Taliban frequently carry out suicide attacks in against Afghan and NATO troops and government officials, and in the past have targeted former mujahideen leaders they consider corrupt, or the head of rival armed groups.

However a spokesman for the militants denied responsibility for the attack in Asmaar.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai strongly condemned the bombing, saying it was the work of people who want to suppress the efforts of Afghan people to seek peace.

Zarin fought the Soviet occupation in Afghanistan during the 1980s, before the fall of the Moscow-backed Kabul government. (AFP)