A suicide bomber on a bicycle attacked Canadian troops in southern Afghanistan today, an Afghan official said.

British forces based in Iraq backed the investigation into alleged abuse by some of its troops in the south two years ago, a military spokesman said today.

From palace ashtrays and pillows to jeeps and a grand piano, the spoils of war are disappearing fast in Iraq.

British peacekeepers patrolling in western Kabul were fired on as their convoy travelled to an observation post in the second shooting incident in as many days, a spokesman for the security force said today.

Suspected al Qaida and Taliban fighters planned to kill British and other peacekeepers by setting off car bombs in Afghanistan’s capital, authorities have said.