KABUL, Afghanistan, May 11 (UPI) — A roadside bomb killed a senior Afghan intelligence officer Saturday as U.S. and Afghan government officials said they met about the ongoing troop transition.
The intelligence officer was killed in eastern Nuristan province as he was going to work, Khaama Press reported.
Gen. Zakeria Khan, provincial chief of the National Directorate of Security, identified the officer only as Eng. Sharif, whom he said was a deputy provincial intelligence official.
No group immediately took responsibility for the incident.
The governor of the Barg-e-Matal district has warned hundreds of militants are preparing a major attack on the region.
The explosion occurred as Foreign Minister Dr. Zalmai Rassoul and Deputy U.S. Secretary of State William Burns attended a meeting of a bilateral commission in Kabul to discuss long-range cooperation between the countries.
Rassoul described the talks as having made “important progress since our last meeting.”
He added that “significant progress” had made in transitioning Afghan troops into responsibilities held by American troops that are withdrawing from the country.
Rassoul said, “nearly 90 percent of Afghans live in areas where our own security forces are in the lead.”
Copyright 2013 United Press International, Inc. (UPI).
