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Afghan official: Suicide bombing in east kills 16

Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan — A suicide bomber attacked an anti-corruption demonstration in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing 16 people and wounding 40, an official said.

The explosion in the eastern city of Khost wounded a local member of parliament, Hamayun Hamayoon, according to Mubarez Mohammed Zadran, the governor's spokesman.

Khost is a volatile province along the border with Pakistan where the Taliban have an entrenched, long-term presence. In recent months, hundreds of thousands of people have arrived in the province fleeing a Pakistani army offensive against Taliban positions across the border.

Earlier on Thursday, the police chief of a restive district in the country's south was killed by a roadside bomb.

Hikmatullah Akmal was heading toward a Taliban attack on a checkpoint in Gereshk district when the bomb planted by insurgents struck his vehicle, according to Helmand provincial police chief Nabi Jan Malakhail.

A major military operation is underway to drive Taliban insurgents from the poppy-rich valley of the Helmand River.

The insurgents, fighting to protect supply routes and a major source of funding from the opium produced in the province, have stepped up attacks on police checkpoints and other government targets.

GERESHK

HAMAYUN HAMAYOON

HELMAND

HELMAND RIVER

HIKMATULLAH AKMAL

INSURGENTS

KHOST

MUBAREZ MOHAMMED ZADRAN

NABI JAN MALAKHAIL

POLICE

TALIBAN

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