Mayor killed in Afghan explosion

04/05/2009| IslamWeb

A suicide bomber has killed the mayor of a provincial capital in eastern Afghanistan along with five other people.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for Monday's attack, which targeted the mayor of Mehterlam, the capital of Laghman province.

The mayor's nephew, two bodyguards and two villagers were also killed in the attack.

Edayutullah Qalanderzai, the deputy provincial governor, confirmed the attack which came as Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, announced he would seek re-election in August.

Karzai is due in Washington on Wednesday for a meeting with Barack Obama, the US president, and Asif Ali Zardari, his Pakistani counterpart, where the three are to discuss the deteriorating security situation.

The US has increased its focus on Afghanistan this year, shifting resources away from the Iraq conflict.

Obama is sending 21,000 additional forces to bolster the record 38,000 US troops already in Afghanistan.

PHOTO CAPTION

Map of Afghanistan locating Laghman province

Al-Jazeera