Taliban suicide blast kills 24

AN Afghan official says a Taliban suicide attack has killed 24 people east of Kabul, including the country’s deputy chief of intelligence and the head of a provincial council.

The explosion ripped through a crowd attending the inauguration of a mosque in Laghman province.

A Taliban spokesman says a suicide bomber targeted the deputy chief of intelligence.

Government spokesman Sayed Ahmad Safi confirmed that the deputy chief, Abdullah Laghmani, was killed, along with the head of Laghman’s provincial council, the executive director of the governor’s office and 21 others.