Afghanistan: Attacks kill 29, including elders urging peace

© WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/Getty Images Afghan peace activists march in Kabul on June 18, 2018, as they demand an end to the war.

Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan

An Afghan official says insurgent attacks in two provinces have killed 29 people, including a bomb that targeted a meeting between the Taliban and village elders urging them to enter peace talks.

Hasibullah Stanikzai, a provincial council member in the eastern Logar province, says Thursday's bombing killed 13 elders and an unknown number of Taliban.

No one immediately claimed the attack, but a local affiliate of the Islamic State group has targeted previous gatherings between the Taliban and those calling for an end to 17 years of war.

In a separate incident, a Taliban assault on a security post in the northern Takhar province killed 16 border police, according to Sonatullah Timor, a spokesman for the provincial governor.