Taliban attack kills 14 Nepalis in Afghan capital

By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) – A Taliban suicide attack killed 14 Nepali security guards in the Afghan capital Kabul on Monday morning.

The Nepalis working for the Canadian Embassy were travelling in a mini-bus that was targeted in the upscale Wazir Akbar Khan neighrborhood near Kabul’s diplomatic enclave, the Afghan Ministry of Interior said.

The Canadian Embassy called the attack “cowardly” and offered condolences to the families of the victims.

In the north-eastern Badakshan province, at least 10 people were killed on Monday when an explosive-laden motorbike was detonated in a crowded market, the local Pajhwok news agency reported.

Meanwhile, Afghan parliament approved after more than year-long delay President Ashraf Ghani’s appointments for intelligence chief, Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai and defense minister, Abdullah Khan Habibi.

The delayed approvals had long prevented Ghani from completing his cabinet, almost two years after he became president, especially given their importance in Afghanistan's conflict with the Taliban.