Blast At Funeral In Afghanistan, 40 Killed

Dozens of people are believed to have been killed or wounded in a suicide blast on Tuesday at a funeral in eastern Afghanistan, a spokesman for the local government said.

The attacker detonated his explosives in the middle of the ceremony, said Ataullah Khogyani, spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province.

"Initial information shows about 40 people killed and wounded in the attack," he added.

The attack targeted the funeral ceremony for a local police commander, according to Khogyani.

Battle-weary Nangarhar near the Pakistan border has long been a stronghold for both Islamic State and Taliban militants and has witnessed some of the hardest fighting in recent years.

Both international forces and the Taliban in the area have targeted IS fighters, who have largely been pushed out of the province but still retain the ability to launch attacks on urban centres.