Premature blast kills 4 Taliban militants including key commander in E. Afghan province

ASSADABAD, Afghanistan, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- A Taliban key commander and three of his armed fighters were killed after their explosive device went off prematurely in the eastern Kunar province on Friday night, provincial Police Chief Juma Gul Humat said Saturday.

"Taliban key commander Mubarak Shah alias Jahan along with three of his men was busy in making mine in a house in Narai district on Friday night when the device exploded accidentally, killing all the four on the spot," Humat told Xinhua.

A child was also injured in the blast, the official added.

Taliban militants, he said, often use the homemade mines as roadside bomb to target security forces convoys.

Taliban militants haven't commented.