• Six members of the Afghan Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of parliament, were killed by a bomb while touring a sugar factory. At least 35 others were killed, including tribal elders and children. The six lawmakers were members of the National Economy Commission. Among them was Sayed Mustafa Kazemi, a Shia who created Afghanistan's first opposition political party. The Taliban have denied responsibility and condemned the bombing, which was first reported as a suicide bombing but is under further investigation.
  
  Meanwhile in the "peaceful" northern province of Baghlan, former Afghan prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and leader of the Hizb-e Islami, an islamist mujahadin movement, is reported to be appealing to militia commanders in the north to join in battling Western forces.

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