Suicide Bomber Kills Nine at Funeral in Northern Afghanistan

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A suicide bomb at a funeral killed at least nine people and injured 18 others in Afghanistan on Monday, December 1, 2014.

"The suicide bomber walked to the funeral before placing the bomb in the middle of a crowd that was congregating at a funeral in Burka district this morning," said Baghlan Province Police Chief, Aminullah Amarkhil to AFP, as quoted by the International Business Times on Monday.

Preliminary reports showed that two police officers were killed at the funeral. The Governor of Burka District, Taj Mohammed Taqwa, said that the suicide bomber had deliberately targeted police officers and local officials - including himself - who attended the funeral. Around 1,000 people was at the funeral when the blast occurred.

"The bomber was targeting a number of high-ranking police officers, as well as local politicians who came to pay their final respects at the funeral. Many of them were injured in the blast," said Taqwa.

The blast came following a series of bombings in Kabul, which began to increase in intensity as foreign military units begin to withdraw from the country, which coincides with the ascension of the newly-elected coalition government into office.

Taliban guerrilla fighters have increased the intensity of the assaults across Afghanistan as the deadline for the withdrawal of the United States (US) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) looms closer. NATO and US' withdrawals are causing concern among the Afghans - many of whom still believe that their homegrown force is not strong enough to counter a militant terrorists' assaults.

The mandate of the US troops to stay in Afghanistan under NATO's directives is scheduled to end on December 31, 2014 - that said, around 12,500 NATO soldiers are expected to continue with the missions in Afghanistan to train the Afghan military and police.

IB TIMES | ABC NEWS | ROSALINA