Suicide attacks slam Afghan tribal meeting

At least four people were killed and 15 others wounded in a twin suicide attack inside a meeting of community leaders in the southern Afghan town of Spin Boldak, local officials have said.

“The blasts occurred inside the hall of the town’s council building during a meeting of tribal elders,” Jawed Faisal, spokesman for the governor of Kandahar province, told the AFP news agency on Sunday.

Witnesses said that two explosions were heard, followed by small arms fire in Spin Boldak, a town in the restive Kandahar province close to the border with Pakistan.

The council building was badly damaged and some people were feared trapped in the rubble.

“Every Sunday the local shura [council] meet at the administrative building, that is where the attack happened,” said Mohammad Ali, the border police chief in Spin Boldak, 100km south of Kandahar city.

“Two suicide attackers detonated themselves during the meeting.”