Taliban security personnel carry a damaged bus after a roadside bomb blast in Mazar-e Sharif, the capital city of Balkh province, in northern Afghanistan, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022. AP
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.
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