Taleban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack.
The bomber detonated his vehicle on a busy road on the edge of Kunduz city, near the airport, the Afghan Interior Ministry said. An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw at least one overturned armored vehicle and what appeared to be a civilian car that was mangled in the blast.
Three civilians were killed and 11 were wounded in the attack, the ministry said.
Germany’s military said two German soldiers were lightly wounded and treated at a nearby base. Two vehicles were damaged, according to a German military spokesman, who declined to be named in line with department policy.
The commander of a German base outside Kunduz, Col. Norbert Sabrautzki, was traveling in the convoy to a security meeting with the provincial governor and other Afghan officials in Kunduz when the bomber struck, the spokesman said.
He said the military had no indications that the commander, who was not injured, was the target of the blast.
The blast comes about three weeks after an attack inside the compound of the governor of nearby Takhar province at a similar security meeting. That attack killed several people and injured the NATO force’s commander for northern Afghanistan, Germany’s Gen. Markus Kneip.
The military spokesman said Sunday’s attack appears to have been carried out with an explosive-laden car, though it was not clear whether it was a suicide bombing or a remote-controlled detonation.
The violence continues despite assertions by Afghan President Hamid Karzai that fledgling peace talks have started between the US and Afghan government and Taleban emissaries. Reports about such talks have surfaced in recent months, but Karzai’s statement Saturday was the first public confirmation of US participation. Publicly, the Taleban say there will be no negotiations until foreign troops leave Afghanistan.
The White House has neither directly confirmed nor denied Karzai’s statements.
However, such talks may be gaining momentum after the UN Security Council voted unanimously Friday to treat Al-Qaeda and the Taleban separately when it comes to UN sanctions, a decision aimed at supporting the Afghan government’s reconciliation efforts.
It’s one of a number of efforts to ready Afghanistan for the upcoming drawdown of international forces. President Barack Obama has pledged to start bringing some troops home in July and other NATO allies have already started to decrease troops or are making similar plans.
Key to this force shift is the plan to start transitioning seven parts of the country to Afghan control next month.
Recent attacks in cities slated for transition, such as Herat and Kabul, have raised questions about whether Afghan forces are ready to take over security. But President Karzai maintained Sunday that the transition is happening on schedule.
“Transition needs to start on time and be implemented decisively,” he told a gathering of the national security council Sunday, according to a statement from the president’s office.
