The Latest: Attack on Afghan mosque, voter center kills 14
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - The Latest on the war in Afghanistan (all times local):
10 p.m.
Officials in Afghanistan say a bomb blast inside a mosque that was being used as a voter registration center has killed at least 14 people and wounded more than 30.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in the eastern city of Khost. But both the Taliban and a local Islamic State affiliate reject democratic elections and have targeted them in the past.
Afghanistan plans to hold elections in October, the first since 2014.
Also Sunday, an Afghan official said seven Indian citizens and their Afghan driver were kidnapped in the northern Baghlan province.
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7:30 p.m.
India's foreign ministry in a statement Sunday said the government was in touch with the Afghan officials over the reports of abduction.
"We are aware of the abduction of Indian nationals from Baghlan province in Afghanistan," the statement said. "We are in contact with the Afghan authorities and further details are being ascertained."
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6:20 p.m.
An Afghan official says that the dead toll for the bombing at a mosque in the eastern Khost province that was being used as a voter registration center has risen to 14 people killed, including a woman.
Talib Mangal, spokesman for the provincial governor in Khost, said that a bomb placed inside the Yaqoubi mosque detonated and caused casualties among civilians who gathered both for prayers and to get voter registration.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
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4:20 p.m.
An Afghan official says that seven Indian citizens and their Afghan driver have been kidnapped in the northern Baghlan province.
Mahmood Haqmal, spokesman for the provincial governor, says unknown gunmen abducted the Indian electrical engineers on Sunday near the provincial capital, Puli Khumri, as they were traveling to a power station.
No one has claimed the abduction, but the Taliban have a strong presence in Baghlan. In the past, the insurgents have cut power lines in the region, which are used to import electricity from central Asian countries to the Afghan capital, Kabul.
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3:45 p.m.
An Afghan official says a bombing at a mosque in the eastern Khost province that was being used as a voter registration center killed 12 people and wounded another 33.
Habib Shah Ansari, the provincial head of public health, provided the first precise toll from the attack, which was earlier confirmed by other officials.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but both the Taliban and a local Islamic State affiliate reject democratic elections and have targeted them in the past. IS is not known to have a presence in Khost, but has expanded its footprint into other areas in recent years.
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3:30 p.m.
An Afghan official says at least 30 people were "killed and wounded" in a bomb blast inside a mosque in eastern Khost province that was being used as a voter registration center.
Talib Mangal, spokesman for the provincial governor, confirmed Sunday's attack and provided the approximate toll. Baser Bena, spokesman for the provincial police chief, also confirmed the attack in Khost city, the provincial capital. Neither had an exact figure for casualties.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but both the Taliban and a local Islamic State affiliate reject democratic elections and have targeted them in the past. IS is not known to have a presence in Khost, but has expanded its footprint into other areas in recent years.
Last month, an Islamic State suicide bomber attacked a voter registration center in Kabul, killing 60 people and wounding at least 130 others.
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11:30 a.m.
A vehicle carrying shopkeepers on their way to a market has struck a roadside bomb in Afghanistan's northern Faryab province, killing seven of them.
Police spokesman Karim Yuresh says another civilian was wounded in Sunday's attack, in an area where the Taliban and an Islamic State affiliate are active.
In the eastern Paktia province, a car bomb killed two people and wounded another three. Abdullah Hsart, the provincial governor's spokesman, says the attack late Saturday targeted Hazart Mohammad Rodwal, a district chief, who was among the wounded. The Taliban claimed the attack.