Suicide blast kills 3, hurts 7 in Afghan province, official says

KABUL, Afghanistan — At least three people were killed after a suicide bomber detonated his explosives vest, paving the way for another attacker to charge into a training center for midwives in the capital of Nangarhar province, a provincial official said Saturday.

Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor, said the three victims — two security guards and a driver — were killed in the first attack near the center’s gate.

He added that three members of security forces — two civilians and two government employees— were wounded in the attack in Jalalabad city, the capital of the eastern Nangarhar province.

The second attacker was not able to detonate his explosives vest and was shot by security forces.

“More than 60 students, teachers and other employees were rescued form the building by the Afghan security forces,” Khogyani said.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but Taliban insurgents and fighters from the affiliate of the Islamic State are active in eastern Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the Taliban held their first direct contact with a U.S. official in a preliminary discussion about future peace talks on Afghanistan, a senior official with the insurgent group said Saturday. It marked one of the most significant developments amid efforts to find a negotiated end to the country’s protracted war.

The official described as “useful” a meeting with Alice Wells, the top U.S. diplomat for South Asia, earlier this week.

U.S. officials neither confirmed nor denied a meeting took place in Qatar.