Kabul blast claimed by Taliban kills Afghan air force pilot

Officials said Afghan air force pilot Hamidullah Azimi died when a sticky bomb attached to his vehicle detonated.

An Afghan air force pilot has been killed in a bomb blast in Kabul, claimed by the Taliban, officials said. The pilot, Hamidullah Azimi, died on Saturday when a sticky bomb attached to his vehicle detonated, officials said, adding that five civilians were wounded in the explosion. Azimi was trained to fly US-made UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and had served with the Afghan air force for almost four years, the forces’ commander, Abdul Fatah Eshaqzai, told the Reuters news agency.