Suicide Attack Kills 3 Civilians, Wounds 11 in E Afghanistan

At least three Afghan civilians were killed and 11 others were wounded in a suicide attack in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, Afghan Ministry of Interior Affairs said.

The incident happened at 07:30 am local time in Barmal district of Paktika province when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive in Askeen Bazaar in the province, the Ministry of Interior Affairs said.

The wounded were taken to a nearby hospital in the province.

No group including the Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Barmal district is bordered by Pakistan and insurgents have been active in most of its villages.

The incident happened as the Taliban declared the beginning of spring season attacks in a statement on Saturday, warning civilians to stay away from government institutions.

In the statement the Taliban have warned Afghan civilians to stay away from military bases, convoys and as well as government institutions so that they are not hurt during insurgent attacks.

A senior Isaf official on Saturday said the Taliban have lost momentum to fight Afghan and coalition forces and they "definitely" could not regain what they have lost.

"We think that the insurgency will not be able to emphasise that they are still relevant and powerful and they definitely will not regain what they have lost. And transition to Afghanistan and to the Afghan security forces will certainly start in July this year." Gen. Josef Blotz told TOLOnews.

Afghan Defence Ministry described the Taliban statement as a propaganda.

"We had already predicted that the Taliban would step up their attacks. With support from international forces Afghan army and overall Afghan security forces are fully prepared," Defence Ministry Spokesperson Gen. Zaher Azimi said.

National Directorate of Security (NDS) Spokesperson Lotfullah Mashal said "They want to create fear among people by releasing such statements. And of no doubt they have nothing to do except to kill people, destroy government institutions and hurt Afghanistan's national interests."