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
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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.



Russia Says US Using Taiwan to Stir Crisis in Asia

Participants wave Taiwanese flags during the Kuomintang (KMT) National Congress in Taoyuan on November 24, 2024. (Photo by Yu Chien Huang / AFP)
Participants wave Taiwanese flags during the Kuomintang (KMT) National Congress in Taoyuan on November 24, 2024. (Photo by Yu Chien Huang / AFP)
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Russia Says US Using Taiwan to Stir Crisis in Asia

Participants wave Taiwanese flags during the Kuomintang (KMT) National Congress in Taoyuan on November 24, 2024. (Photo by Yu Chien Huang / AFP)
Participants wave Taiwanese flags during the Kuomintang (KMT) National Congress in Taoyuan on November 24, 2024. (Photo by Yu Chien Huang / AFP)

The United States is using Taiwan to provoke a serious crisis in Asia, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko told TASS news agency in remarks published on Sunday, reiterating Moscow's backing of China's stance on Taiwan.
"We see that Washington, in violation of the 'one China' principle that it recognises, is strengthening military-political contacts with Taipei under the slogan of maintaining the 'status quo', and increasing arms supplies," Rudenko told the state news agency.
"The goal of such obvious US interference in the region's affairs is to provoke the PRC (People's Republic of China) and generate a crisis in Asia to suit its own selfish interests."
The report did not cite any specific contacts that Rudenko was referring to.
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, a claim that Taiwan's government rejects. The US is Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier, despite the lack of formal diplomatic recognition.
The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Rudenko's remarks outside office hours.
In September, President Joe Biden approved $567 million in military support for Taiwan. Russia responded that it was standing alongside China on Asian issues, including criticism of the US drive to extend its influence and "deliberate attempts" to inflame the situation around Taiwan.
China and Russia declared a "no limits" partnership in February 2022 when President Vladimir Putin visited Beijing shortly before launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, triggering the deadliest land war in Europe since World War Two.
In May this year, Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged a "new era" of partnership between the two most powerful rivals of the United States, which they cast as an aggressive Cold War hegemon sowing chaos across the world.