Police: District chief in eastern Afghanistan dies when bomb rips through his vehicle

KABUL, Afghanistan – Police say a bomb has ripped through the vehicle of a district chief in eastern Afghanistan, killing him.

Nangarhar provincial police chief spokesman Hazrat Hussain Mashreqiwal said the early Saturday morning blast in the district capital Jalalabad killed Noor Agha Kamran, head of Nazian district.

Mashreqiwal says two of Kamran's bodyguards are in hospital with serious wounds. Another four people in the area were treated for minor injuries and released from hospital, he said.

No one has taken immediate responsibility for the bombing but Nazian district has a heavy presence of Taliban insurgents. The Afghan army has recently carried out several operations in the area against militants.