Roadside bomb kills doctor in Afghanistan

A roadside bomb explosion killed a female doctor in the eastern city of Jalalabad, provincial officials said on Thursday, days after three female media workers were shot dead in the same city. Attahullah Khogyani, the spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province in which Jalalabad is the main city, said the doctor was on her to work in a rickshaw on Thursday morning when she was killed in the blast. A child was also wounded.

Khogyani did not name the doctor but said she worked in the maternity ward of a private hospital. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Waves of shootings and small bombs attached to vehicles or planted on the side of a road have targeted journalists, civil society workers, and mid-level government employees in recent months.

The government and some foreign powers have blamed Taliban insurgents for many of the attacks and say the militant group is using the tactics to instill fear while avoiding large-scale civilian casualties. The Taliban denies involvement. The Taliban and the Afghan government are holding peace talks in Doha, though progress has slowed while U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration reviews its plans for the peace process and the withdrawal of troops.

On Tuesday, three female media employees of a private TV station, aged between 18 to 20 were shot dead on their way home in Jalalabad city. The attack was later claimed by the Islamic State militant group. Nangarhar, which shares a long and porous border with neighboring Pakistan, has long served as the main stronghold of Islamic State fighters. Militants based there have planned and staged bombings around the country, especially the capital Kabul.