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2nd LD Writethru: 17 killed, 39 wounded in suicide bombing in east Afghanistan

Xinhua, January 29, 2015 Adjust font size:

The death toll from a suicide attack on a funeral ceremony in Afghanistan's eastern province of Laghman has risen to 17 with 39 others injured, sources said on Thursday.

"Our latest figures show 17 people were killed and 39 others wounded in Thursday afternoon's suicide bombing which took place in provincial capital Mehtarlam city, during a funeral ceremony," the provincial government said in a statement.

The killed included 12 civilians, four police officials, including head of provincial criminal investigation department ( CID) and the bomber, according to the statement.

The injured included 36 civilians and three policemen. Two wounded children remained in critical condition, the statement added.

The funeral was for a police officer named Sayyeda Jan, who was killed along with three members of his family in a bomb attack earlier on Thursday morning in Mehtarlam, it said.

The attack took place at around 3:00 p.m. local time in Pahlawan Baba, a suburb in Mehtarlam city.

Fazlullah Mujadidi, acting provincial governor, strongly condemned the incident. The statement blamed enemies of Afghanistan, a term refers to Taliban insurgent group, for the attack. Enditem