Opium seizures in Afghanistan soared 924% last year because of better co-operation between Afghan and international forces, the US's top drug enforcement official said today.

A SUICIDE car bomber detonated his vehicle outside the Indian Embassy in the bustling centre of the Afghan capital yesterday, killing 17 people in the second major attack in the city in less than a month. The Afghan Foreign Ministry hinted at Pakistani involvement – a charge Pakistan denied.

At least 12 people were killed and dozens injured when a powerful car bomb exploded outside the Indian Embassy in the busy centre of Kabul as commuters arrived for work today, officials said.

A suicide bomber blew himself up inside the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture in Kabul today, killing at least three people and badly damaging part of the building, officials and witnesses said. The Taliban claimed responsibility.

THE Afghan police have ordered 7,000 officers onto the streets of Kabul to guard against attacks on senior leaders during Independence Day celebrations today, responding to signs of the Taliban’s growing strength near the capital.

A suicide bomber blew himself up next to a police patrol in southern Afghanistan today, killing at least 18 people, including 13 civilians, said a provincial police chief.

The families of two Indian doctors detained in connection with failed terror plots in Britain today insisted that the young men were innocent and had nothing to do with terrorism.

FOR once, Munster rugby star Jim Williams led the way out onto a crowded Limerick arena without feeling any pressure.