Afghan bomber foiled; 5 die

A mother who tried to stop her son from carrying out a suicide bombing triggered an explosion in the family’s home, killing her, her son and three of his siblings, police said Monday.

The would-be bomber had been studying at a religious school in Pakistan. When he returned to his home in Oruzgan province, in southern Afghanistan, over the weekend, he announced that he planned to carry out a suicide attack, Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary said.

Family members said the would-be bomber gave his family $3,600 before telling them of his plans, said Juma Gul Himat, the province’s police chief.

Another would-be bomber died Friday in Paktika province after he identified himself to police and began taking off his bomb vest, Bashary said.

The bomber said he changed his mind and was aborting the mission because he saw people praying in a mosque. But he accidentally triggered the blast as he slipped off the vest, killing only himself, Bashary said.

In other violence, Taliban militants ambushed a North Atlantic Treaty Organization patrol in central Afghanistan on Sunday, leaving about a dozen soldiers wounded, a NATO official said. The official did not identify the nationality of the wounded troops. Most of the troops in Wardak province, which borders the capital, Kabul, are Turkish.