At least two children were killed and two others wounded in an explosion at the home of a clergyman in Afghanistan’s eastern Khost province on Tuesday morning.
The explosion occurred inside the home of Mullah Mohammad Farooq, who is the imam of a local mosque in the Mandozai district. Farooq is a refugee from Pakistan’s Waziristan region.
The Taliban’s security spokesperson in the province, Mostaghfir Garbez, said that the explosion killed two girls and wounded a boy and a girl. He added that an investigation is ongoing to determine the nature of the attack.
Unverified sources indicate that Farooq and his wife were also injured in the attack. Local officials have not commented further about the attack.
The explosion comes at a time of tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Pakistan has accused the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), of launching attacks on Pakistan from Afghan soil.
In early March, six members of the TTP were killed and 15 injured in an apparently Pakistani airstrike in Khost.