At least 3 killed in blast near police station in northeastern Afghanistan

KABUL: An explosion near a police station in Afghanistan’s northeastern Badakhshan province killed at least three people on Monday, including the provincial police chief, and injured two others, an official has said.
The blast occurred near police headquarters in the provincial capital Faizabad, Abdul Nafi Takoor, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior Affairs, told Arab News.
He said: “As a result of the blast, three people — including Maulvi Abdul Haq Abu Omar, the provincial police chief — were martyred and another two wounded.“Police have arrested two suspects in connection with the blast.”
Takoor added the explosive material used in the incident had been placed in a rickshaw.
A Faizabad resident, who requested anonymity due to safety concerns, told Arab News the blast had “hit the Badakhshan police chief’s vehicle.”
Police have begun an investigation into the attack, but there has been no claim of responsibility for the blast that took place in the mountainous and remote Afghan province, which shares borders with Tajikistan, Paistan, and China.Monday’s incident came a day after an attack close to a petrol station in the Afghan capital Kabul.
Police spokesman Khalid Zadran said: “The explosion occurred near a petrol station on Sunday evening but there were no casualties.”Former Gen. Abdul Wahid Taqat said: “The bloody Badakhshan attack is not the first nor the last, due to the existence of the Islamic Emirate’s enemies there (and) the presence of militants.”Resistance movements have in the past claimed activity in Badakhshan. There has been an increased presence of resistance groups following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
last year, according to reports.