A suicide bomber detonated his explosives in a busy restaurant in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, killing four people and injuring 14 others, government and Taliban spokesmen said, DPA reported.
The attack occurred in the main market of Ali Shing, a district in Laghman province, said Faizullah Pathan, spokesman for the provincial governor.
"The four dead were tribal elders and the 14 injured people were innocent civilians, who were having lunch in a restaurant," he said.
However, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said four militia commanders were killed and 14 of their bodyguards were injured in the suicide attack that was carried out by an insurgent named Abdul Wali.
"Some people might call these people as civilians, because they still wear civilian clothes and don't have any uniforms," he said.
Due to remoteness of the area, it was difficult to independently verify the conflicting reports.
Under pressure from US general David Petraeus, the top commander for more than 140,000 NATO troops in Afghanistan, the government agreed to form local militia forces in some areas to defend their communities against Taliban fighters.
Petraeus, who experienced the benefit of such local forces in fight against insurgents in Iraq, pushed for the establishment of militias to help Afghan forces provide security as the foreign military is scheduled to draw down their forces from July.
Afghan forces are expected to take the overall security responsibility by the end of 2014.
Separately, seven suspected insurgents were killed Monday after they attacked a joint patrol of Afghan and coalition forces in Noor Gul district in the eastern province of Kunar, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
No Afghan or foreign casualties were reported.
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