At least three people were killed and seven more were wounded in an explosion at a hotel that hosted “Waziristan migrants” in the city of Khost in southeastern Afghanistan on Monday, Taliban said in a statement.
Taliban said that the incident happened at around 11:00 am local time when a hotel, located near a famous mosque in the city of Khost, was targeted by an explosion.
The Taliban said that the hotel hosts Waziristan migrants.
According to the Taliban statement, an investigation has started into the incident to find the type of attack.
Meanwhile, a number of Pakistani media, quoting multiple sources, including a Pakistani Taliban commander, as saying that the incident was a drone attack – probably by Pakistani forces – on a hotel that housed Pakistani militants loyal to Hafiz Gul Bahadur, who is the leader of a faction of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
According to the reports, Bahadur was the main target of the attack.
Pakistani media reported that at least 20 people were wounded in the attack.
Who is Hafiz Gul Bahadur?
Aged 61, Hafiz Gul Bahadur is a key figure at the helm of a Pakistani Taliban faction situated in North Waziristan, recognized as the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group.
Initially affiliated with the TTP, he held the position of deputy under Baitullah Mehsud, who operated from South Waziristan before eventually establishing his own distinct faction.
Gul Bahadur, tracing his lineage directly from Mirzali Khan, hails from the Madda Khel clan of the Uthmanzai Waziris.
This is a developing story.
