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Former militia commander dies in suicide bombing in Afghanistan

Posted Saturday, Jul. 31, 2010 Comments   (0)  Print Share Share Reprints
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KABUL, Afghanistan -- A former militia commander who supported the Afghan government and two other people were killed Saturday night by a suicide bomber who blew himself up at a football game in northern Afghanistan, officials said.

Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary said 19 other people, including children, were injured in the attack in Kunduz, the capital of Kunduz province.

Deputy provincial police chief Abdul Rahman Haqtash said the target of the bombing was a former local warlord and militia commander known by one name, Selab. He fought against the Soviet Union's occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s and during the civil war that followed.

An Afghan policeman and a relative of Selab who worked as the commander's bodyguard were also killed, Haqtash said.

"He was a supporter of the Afghan government," Haqtash said. "This is why he was targeted by the militants."

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