Suicide Bomber Kills Afghan Provincial Police Chief

March 19, 2015

Afghan official say a suicide bomber wearing a burqa has killed a provincial police chief in the capital, Kabul.

Officials said the police chief in the central province of Uruzgan, Mattiullah Khan, died in the attack in western Kabul late on March 18.

The Interior Ministry said the bomber was "dressed in women's clothes and a burqa."

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the killing, which comes as Afghanistan prepares to celebrate Norouz, the Persian New Year, on March 21.

Also on March 18, a Taliban truck bomb targeting senior provincial officials killed at least seven civilians and wounded around 40 in the southern province of Helmand.

U.S. and NATO forces formally ended their combat mission in Afghanistan at the end of 2014.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters