A suicide attacker on foot blew himself up near a Nato convoy in southern Afghanistan today, seriously wounding three civilians, while a roadside bomb killed a policeman in the east, officials said.

The US-led coalition today accused the Taliban of using children as human shields during a battle in southern Afghanistan, while Nato said it was investigating a shipment of weapons intercepted near the border with Iran.

A suicide bomber on foot blew himself up next to a police vehicle in Afghanistan’s volatile south today, wounding eight policemen, an official said.

Suspected Taliban militants attacked police posts in southern Afghanistan, sparking clashes and NATO airstrikes that left 25 civilians and 20 militants dead, a senior police officer said today.