District chief killed in Afghanistan bomb attack

Kabul: An Afghan district chief was killed on Monday in a bomb blast targeting a security meeting in a key eastern city, the latest in a series of brazen but largely unsuccessful insurgent attacks in the volatile region.

Lal Pur district head Syed Mohammad Palawan died when a bomb planted on his car exploded as he was driving into a government compound to attend a meeting of provincial security and political leaders in Jalalabad, capital of Nangarhar province, said police spokesman Ghafor Khan.

Insurgents apparently planned for the bomb to explode inside the compound where it could potentially have caused far greater destruction, Khan said. Three of Palawan's bodyguards were wounded, Khan said, while the Interior Ministry put the figure at five.

The attack followed a failed assault on two coalition bases in nearby Khost province on Saturday, in which more than 30 insurgents were killed. The attacks indicate that militant activity is rising in parts of the east, as coalition forces focus resources on Taliban strongholds in the south.

Security in eastern Afghanistan is critical because the region includes the capital, Kabul, which the insurgents have sought to surround and isolate from the rest of the country.

Jalalabad also lies just 55km west of the border, where militants maintain safe havens from which to plan attacks and infiltrate foreign fighters linked to Al Qaida across the rugged mountains.

Key demand

Shutting down such sanctuaries has been a key demand of President Hamid Karzai's government who on Saturday renewed his criticism of coalition strategy in fighting Afghanistan's stubborn insurgency — part of a pattern of greater outspokenness by the Afghan leader as he appeals for support among the Afghan public.

In a meeting with visiting German Parliament Speaker Norbert Lammert, Karzai said there was a "serious need" to alter strategy against the Taliban and other groups linked to Al Qaida, the presidential office said.

"There should be a review of the strategy in the fight against terrorism, because the experience of the last eight years showed that the fight in the villages of Afghanistan has been ineffective apart from causing civilian casualties," Karzai was quoted as saying.

Karzai has in the past argued Afghan forces should take the lead in operations to root out insurgents and win support from conservative villagers who harbour a long tradition of suspicion of outsiders.