Taliban bomb maker accidentally kills himself and sons when explosives detonate

A Taliban bomb maker accidentally killed himself and his four sons, when explosives detonated while he was building weapons for the militant group.

Kamal Khan, an expert bomb constructor from Sar-i-Pul province in northern Afghanistan, inadvertently caused an explosive to detonate during the night, while his family slept upstairs.

A spokesman for the provincial government said bombs made by Mr Khan were used frequently during deadly Taliban roadside attacks against security forces and US army troops.

He is believed to have been the Taliban’s most experienced explosives expert in Sar-i-Pul as well as a district commander, and had worked for the group for over a decade.

According to a UN report, a total of 2,562 civilians were killed and another 5,835 wounded during battles between the Taliban and Afghan government in the first nine months of 2016.

In June last year, a Taliban suicide bomber attacked an Afghan military convoy outside Kabul, killing almost 40 people and leaving dozens with severe injuries.

In November, at least two people died in a car bomb attack on the German consulate in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif in north Afghanistan.