Afghanistan: Attacks kill 29, including elders urging peace

In this file photo, Afghan policemen arrive at the site of an attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. (REUTERS)

KABUL:  An Afghan official says insurgent attacks in two provinces have killed 29 people, including a bomb that targeted a meeting between the Taliban and village elders urging them to enter peace talks.

Hasibullah Stanikzai, a provincial council member in the eastern Logar province, says Thursday's bombing killed 13 elders and an unknown number of Taliban.
No one immediately claimed the attack, but a local affiliate of the Islamic State group has targeted previous gatherings between the Taliban and those calling for an end to 17 years of war.
In a separate incident, a Taliban assault on a security post in the northern Takhar province killed 16 border police, according to Sonatullah Timor, a spokesman for the provincial governor.