Employee Of Afghan President's Office ‘Critically Wounded,’ Driver Killed In Bomb Blast

Afghan firefighters clean up the debris after a car bomb explosion in Kabul on December 31.

KABUL -- An Afghan official says an explosion has struck a car carrying an employee from the Afghan president’s office in Kabul, critically wounding the official and killing his driver.

Police said on December 31 that a magnetic bomb was attached to the car carrying Jawid Wali, deputy director of the advisory affairs department.

Wali was "critically wounded" and his driver died, according to the head of the administrative office of the president, Fazel Fazly.

Kabul police spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz initially said three people had been wounded in the blast.

No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes as targeted killings of government employees, journalists, clerics, politicians, and rights activists have become more common in recent months.

There has been rising violence and chaos across Afghanistan despite ongoing talks between government negotiators and the Taliban in Qatar to try put an end to decades of war.

With reporting by dpa and TOLOnews