Mosque Bombing Injures 17 in Eastern Afghanistan

Afghan officials say a bombing at a mosque in eastern Afghanistan has wounded at least 17 people, including a parliamentary candidate.

Officials say the blast occurred Friday in Khost province, while the candidate, Syedullah Sayed, was campaigning at the mosque.

Security is a main challenge as Afghanistan prepares to hold parliamentary elections in September.

On Friday, the United Nations Security Council released a statement endorsing the outcome of this week's international conference in Kabul.

The council, which was briefed by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Friday, says it looks forward to the Afghan government's commitments to take the lead on security, improve governance and tackle corruption.

During Tuesday's conference, officials from more than 60 countries and groups endorsed Afghan President Hamid Karzai's plans for Afghan forces to take control of security by 2014.

President Karzai also called for 50 percent of international development aid to be channeled through the Afghan government.

Separately, NATO said Friday a joint international and Afghan force detained several insurgents, including a senior Taliban commander, during overnight operations in Kandahar, Ghazni, Helmand and Nangarhar provinces.

The alliance also says Afghan forces discovered close to 2,000 kilograms of ammonium nitrate, 5,400 electronic fuses, 3,200 meters of detonation cord, and 275 kilograms of black powder in the Spin Boldak district of southern Kandahar province late Thursday.

NATO says the ammonium nitrate and black powder alone could be used to make more than 100 roadside bombs.


Some information for this report was provided by AP.