Bomb attack injures 2 in eastern Afghanistan

 Two people were wounded after a bomb struck a police vehicle in Mehtarlam, capital of Afghanistan's eastern province of Laghman on Friday, the provincial government said.

The blast took place at around midday after a sticky Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attached to the moving police vehicle was detonated along a main road in the city, 90 km east of national capital of Kabul, it said in a statement.

The injured were shifted to a hospital, the statement said, adding that "The affected persons, a civilian passerby and a traffic police officer, did not receive life-threatening wounds. No person aboard the vehicle was hurt but the backside of the police van was damaged by the blast."

The statement blamed enemies of peace and stability, a term referring to the Taliban militant group, for the attack.

More than 3,498 civilians were killed and over 7,920 others injured in conflict-related incidents across Afghanistan last year, according to the UN mission in the country.

The IED attacks are the third largest cause of civilian casualties in Afghanistan, following ground engagement and suicide attacks. 

source: Xinhua