At least 17 people were killed in a series of violent incidents across four Afghan provinces, officials said on Saturday.

Unknown gunmen killed eight people including a former parliamentary candidate in the Ali Sher district of the eastern Khost province, the police chief's spokesman, Adel Haidar, said.

Personal enmity was said to be the reason for the incident that left one person wounded, according to Haidar.

In central Logar's provincial capital, unknown armed men entered into a house, killing a mother along with her three daughters, according to councillor Qasim Seddiqi.

The motive behind the incident was not yet known, Seddiqi said.

Meanwhile, in north-eastern Badakhshan province, an armed militia commander and three of his men were killed by unknown gunmen in the province's Argo district, according to the police chief's spokesman, Sanaullah Ruhani.

The commander was travelling from one village to another when ambushed, Ruhani said.

At the same time, a cleric was killed by unknown men in the Chah-e Ab district of Takhar province while coming home from an engagement ceremony, the police chief's spokesman, Khalil Asir, told dpa.

He was publicly denouncing the activities of armed militia groups in the province, Asir said.

On Friday, a pro-government cleric was killed in an explosion in capital Kabul.

A spokesman for the Afghan National Security Council, Javid Faisal, said on Twitter on Friday that the Taliban was prolonging campaigns against the people, killing at least 89 in the past two weeks.

The Taliban did not immediately react to the comments.


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