Provincial judge killed in eastern Afghanistan explosion

            JALALABAD, Afghanistan, Jan 7 : (Xinhua) -- A provincial judge was killed while his two children wounded in a bomb attack in Jalalabad city, the provincial capital of eastern Afghan Nangarhar province on Wednesday morning, the latest attack in a string of targeted killing, police said.

            "A sticky bomb attached to car of judge Mahmud-ul-Hassan was detonated while he was traveling to office at around 8:00 a.m. ( local time). Two kids of Hassan aboard the vehicle were also wounded as a result of the blast," provincial police spokesman Hazrat Hussain Mashriqiwal told Xinhua.

            The casualties were shifted to a nearby hospital in the city, 120 km east of Afghan capital of Kabul.

            Late Hassan served as a provincial judge in the neighboring Laghman province, Mashriqiwal said.The Taliban insurgent group has intensified attacks over the past couple of months as the Afghan forces took on the full responsibility for security in the country earlier this month.

            The civilians considered to be supporting government, civilian government employees, religious leaders, tribal elders and persons involved in peace and reconciliation efforts came under attack in targeted killings in the militancy-hit central Asian country.

            About 10,000 civilians were killed and injured in Taliban-led insurgency and conflicts in the country in 2014, according to UN mission officials.

            The officials blamed the attacks of Taliban insurgents and other armed groups for vast majority of the civilian deaths and injuries.  Enditem

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