15 killed, 45 injured as bomb attack hits Afghan officials-Taliban meeting

At least 15 people were killed and 45 others wounded as an explosion rocked a provincial governor's office after a meeting between Afghan officials and Taliban members in Jalalabad city, capital of Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province on Sunday, a source said.

Taliban fighters and their supporters carry a representation of the Afghan national flag and a Taliban flag while riding in a motorized vehicle, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, June 17, 2018.[Photo: AP/Massoud Hossaini]

"The initial information found a terrorist blew his explosive jacket up at the gate of the building roughly at 3:15 p.m. local time when people were leaving the building when the meeting ended," the security source told Xinhua anonymously. 

The death toll was likely to go up as many of the injured were in critical condition, the source added.

The government announced a seven-day ceasefire from June 12 to encourage the Taliban to support the national reconciliation process.

Reciprocating the step, the armed group announced a three-day truce from the first day of Eid-ul-Fitr, Friday to the end of Sunday.

Attahullah Khogyani, provincial governor spokesman, confirmed the incident to Xinhua.

He said a probe was on and information about the identity of the victims would be shared with media later in the day.

On Saturday, 25 people were killed and 54 others wounded in another similar incident on the outskirts of Jalalabad for which the Islamic State militants claimed responsibility.

Those among the killed and wounded were Taliban members, civilians and security forces.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Saturday extended the ceasefire for an unknown period of time.