At least seven killed in bus bomb attack in northern Afghanistan

At least seven people were killed on Tuesday after an explosion hit a vehicle carrying oil workers in northern Afghanistan, police said.

“Today at around 7 am a blast took place in… Balkh on a bus which belonged to Hairatan oil employees,” said Mohammad Asif Wazeri, police spokesperson for northern province of Balkh. 

He further reported that at least six people had been wounded.

The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear. Wazeri said police were investigating and searching for a culprit.

Balkh province is home to one of Afghanistan’s main dry ports, Hairatan, which sits along the Amu Darya river and is close to the border with Uzbekistan. The town has important rail and road links to Central Asia.

It was not clear who the employees on the bus worked for.