Islamic State group claims responsibility for bombing at Afghan bank and says it targeted Taliban

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a deadly bombing that targeted Taliban trying to collect their salaries at a bank in southern Afghanistan. The bombing Thursday at a branch of New Kabul Bank in Kandahar city killed three people and wounded 12 others. A Kandahar official said all of the victims were people who had gathered there to collect their monthly salaries. The Islamic State group’s affiliate is a major Taliban rival and has attacked schools, hospitals, mosques and Shiite areas throughout Afghanistan. The militant group said the suicide bomber detonated his explosive belt among the Taliban gathered near the bank to receive their salaries. Kandahar city is a spiritual and political center for the Taliban.