Nangarhar hajj director, driver killed in suicide blast

JALALABAD (Pajhwok): The Hajj and Religious Affairs Director for eastern Nangarhar province was killed along with his driver in a suicide bombing that left another 16 people injured in this capital city of eastern Nangarhar province on Wednesday.

The suicide bomber blew himself up close to Abdul Zahir Haqqani’s vehicle in the third municipality district of Jalalabad this afternoon, the governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told Pajhwok Afghan News.

He added Haqqani suffered deep wounds as a result of the blast and succumbed to his wounds at hospital. His driver was killed on the spot.

Deputy police chief Col. Abdul Jamil Tatamdara told Pajhwok Afghan News Haqqani and his driver were killed while 16 others were injured in the suicide blast.

The injured had been shifted to hospital while there was no information about their the extent of their injuries.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast.

nh/ma