6 killed as roadside bomb goes off in North Afghanistan: Taliban official

A roadside bomb went off near a bus with government employees during rush hour on Tuesday morning in northern Afghanistan, killing six people, a Taliban official said.

Mohammad Asif Waziri, the Taliban-appointed spokesman for the police chief in Balkh province, said the bombing in Mazar-e Sharif, the provincial capital, also wounded seven people.

The bomb was placed inside a cart by the side of the road and detonated when a bus belonging to the Hiaratan gas and petroleum department was taking employees to work.

No one claimed responsibility for the bombing, but the regional affiliate of the Islamic State group known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province and a rival of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban has increased its attacks since Taliban takeover in 2021.

Images posted on social media from the scene show a damaged bus and another vehicle, along with several carts and fruit stalls lying scattered by the roadside following the explosion.

The bus was later towed away.