At least 13 people were killed and 14 others wounded when a suicide bomber struck the home of a prominent politician in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad on Sunday, authorities said.
The latest attack came during a jirga, an assembly of tribal leaders, at the home of politician Obaidullah Shinwari, who escape unscathed.
“Thirteen people were killed and 14 others injured when a suicide bomber targeted the house of Shinwari,” said a statement from the governor of Nangarhar province, of which Jalalabad is the capital.
Shinwari is a well-known member of Nangarhar’s provincial council and his family is said to be actively involved in local politics.
The bombing marks the second deadly attack in the city since Wednesday, when the militant Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for adeadly gun and bomb siege targeting the Pakistani consulate, and comes just days after an Afghan consulate official’s Peshawar residence was targeted in a late-night drive-by.
The uptick in violence follows renewed international efforts to revive peace talks with the Taliban, locked in a tussle for supremacy with IS in Afghanistan.
Last week representatives of Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United States and China met in a bid to revive stalled Taliban peace talks, even as the insurgents wage a brazen winter campaign of violence.
The so-called “roadmap” talks were meant to lay the groundwork for direct dialogue between the Afghan government and the Taliban to end the 14-year insurgency.
The Quadrilateral Coordination Committee is set to hold the next round of discussions on Monday in Kabul.
