3 policemen die in attacks on Afghan police chief, governor

Two separate bombings in Afghanistan targeted a senior police chief and a provincial governor on Tuesday, killing three policemen and wounding several people, including the police chief, local officials said.

In the first attack, police chief Ghulam Sakhi Ghafoori was on his way to inspect the security situation in the volatile district of Paato in the central Day Kundi province when his car struck a roadside bomb. Three policemen in his convoy were killed and the police chief was wounded, along with two others, according to police spokesman Gul Aqa Sujadi.

In the second attack, a suicide car bombing struck by Gov. Mohammad Halim Fidai's car in eastern Khost province, wounding two of his bodyguards and 12 civilians, said the governor's spokesman, Talib Mangal.

Shortly after the attack, Fidai, who was unharmed in the explosion, appealed on the Taliban in a Facebook live video asking them to stop such attacks and join the peace process.

There was no claim of responsibility for either of the attacks and the Taliban did not immediately respond to the governor's appeal. Since the signing of a peace agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban in February, the insurgents have stopped attacking U.S. and NATO troops but have struck Afghan forces in outlying areas.

The violence has continued even as the country faces the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic that threatens to overwhelm Afghanistan's war-ravaged health system.