Suicide bombers strike in Afghan cities

Suicide bombers struck in Afghanistan’s two main cities today, killing three civilians and wounding six, while seven suspected militants died in fighting with coalition and Nato forces in outlying provinces.

Resistance from Taliban-led insurgents has eased a little in recent weeks, but they have kept up a steady stream of suicide attacks, on the back of the heaviest burst of fighting in Afghanistan since the Islamic militia’s fall from power five years ago.

Today saw bombings in Kandahar and Kabul. In the attack near the international airport in the capital, police managed to corner the bomber and only one bystander, a child, was hurt, said police officer Mirza Mohammed.

In the former Taliban stronghold of Kandahar, an attacker in a Toyota Surf car laden with explosives rammed into a Nato military convoy, damaging one heavy 4x4, Nato and police said.

Police officer Abdul Wasai said three Afghan civilians were killed and four wounded in the blast that left the attacker’s vehicle and body in pieces, scattered on the road. The targeted 4x4 was charred but intact.

Maj. Daryl Morrell, a spokesman for the Nato-led force, blamed the Taliban for the attack, saying the hard-line militia wanted to disturb law and order in Kandahar province.

He said one Nato soldier was wounded, but would not give details about identity or nationality.

An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw Canadian troops block the road where the attack happened near a major junction leading into the city.

In central Ghazni province, US-led coalition and Afghan troops, backed by warplanes, launched a pre-dawn raid today that killed three suspected militants, the US military said in a statement.

Ground forces had surrounded a militant hideout, drawing fire from inside. One soldier was wounded before the forces called in air support, it said. The troops found bomb-making materials in the compound.

The military did not say what nationality the wounded soldier was.

Although Nato has assumed control of military operations in Afghanistan, the US is leading a smaller coalition of a few thousand US and other troops to focus on counterterrorism operations and the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

In eastern Kunar province, US troops fighting under Nato command killed four insurgents near the Korangal outpost in the Pech district, attacking them with rocket-propelled grenades and semi-automatic weapons, a Nato statement said.