Bomb Explodes in Afghanistan during a Memorial Ceremony for a Taliban Official

Taliban security personnel standing guard near the scene of a suicide bomb blast close to the Afghan ministry of foreign affairs in Kabul, Afghanistan, 27 March 2023. EPA/SAMIULLAH POPAL
Taliban security personnel standing guard near the scene of a suicide bomb blast close to the Afghan ministry of foreign affairs in Kabul, Afghanistan, 27 March 2023. EPA/SAMIULLAH POPAL
TT

Bomb Explodes in Afghanistan during a Memorial Ceremony for a Taliban Official

Taliban security personnel standing guard near the scene of a suicide bomb blast close to the Afghan ministry of foreign affairs in Kabul, Afghanistan, 27 March 2023. EPA/SAMIULLAH POPAL
Taliban security personnel standing guard near the scene of a suicide bomb blast close to the Afghan ministry of foreign affairs in Kabul, Afghanistan, 27 March 2023. EPA/SAMIULLAH POPAL

A bomb exploded Thursday in Afghanistan’s northeastern Badakhshan province during a memorial ceremony for a deputy governor who was killed in another blast two days earlier, a Taliban official said.

The latest explosion occurred near Nabawi mosque during a funeral for Mawlavi Nisar Ahmad Ahmadi, the deputy governor of Badakhshan. He was killed by a car bomb on Tuesday alongside his driver in Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan, said The Associated Press.

Moazuddin Ahmadi, the provincial director of information and culture, confirmed the explosion but couldn't provide other detail. He said there are casualties and an investigation is ongoing.

Local sources who spoke on condition of anonymity say the blast happened inside the mosque where Taliban officials and local people attended the memorial ceremony.

The ISIS group claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s car bombing that killed deputy governor and his driver. Ten people were also wounded in the blast.

Ahmadi was wounded in the explosion and died shortly after at a local hospital, according to the director of the information and culture in Badakhshan.

In December, a car bombing killed Badakhshan’s provincial police chief as he made his way to work.

The regional affiliate of the ISIS group — known as ISIS in Khorasan Province — said at the time that it had carried out that attack. IS said it had parked an explosive-laden car on the road and detonated it when the police chief was close by.



Iran to Hold Nuclear Talks with Three European Powers in Geneva on Friday

Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP
Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP
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Iran to Hold Nuclear Talks with Three European Powers in Geneva on Friday

Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP
Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP

Iran plans to hold talks about its disputed nuclear program with three European powers on Nov. 29 in Geneva, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported on Sunday, days after the UN atomic watchdog passed a resolution against Tehran.
Iran reacted to the resolution, which was proposed by Britain, France, Germany and the United States, with what government officials called various measures such as activating numerous new and advanced centrifuges, machines that enrich uranium.
Kyodo said Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's government was seeking a solution to the nuclear impasse ahead of the inauguration in January of US President-elect Donald Trump, Reuters reported.
A senior Iranian official confirmed that the meeting would go ahead next Friday, adding that "Tehran has always believed that the nuclear issue should be resolved through diplomacy. Iran has never left the talks".
In 2018, the then-Trump administration exited Iran's 2015 nuclear pact with six major powers and reimposed harsh sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to violate the pact's nuclear limits, with moves such as rebuilding stockpiles of enriched uranium, refining it to higher fissile purity and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up output.
Indirect talks between President Joe Biden's administration and Tehran to try to revive the pact have failed, but Trump said in his election campaign in September that "We have to make a deal, because the consequences are impossible. We have to make a deal".