Afghanistan: Suicide bomber targets governor's compound

A suicide bomber blew himself up at the governor’s compound in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province today, killing six people, including two civilians, officials said.

Eight people were wounded.

The governor of the Helmand province, Mohammed Daud, was not in the compound at the time of the blast which also damaged two vehicles parked inside the compound in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah, said his spokesman Ghulam Muhiddin.

Four policemen and two civilians were killed in the blast and eight police were wounded, said Gen. Ghulam Nabi Malakhel, the province’s police chief.

Four militants and a teenage girl were killed this morning during a raid by Afghan and US-led coalition forces in eastern Afghanistan, the military said.

Soldiers had requested the peaceful surrender of the four suspects in their village home in Khost province, the military said, but the suspects opened fire.

Four “military-aged males” and a 13-year-old girl were killed, the military said. An eight-year-old girl was wounded.

“Enemies of the Afghan government continue to place women and children in harm’s way by conducting illegal activities within the common living areas, placing entire families at risk,” said Col. Thomas Collins, the spokesman for the US-led coalition.

“Our condolences go out to the family and friends of the young girl who was killed,” said Collins.

“Credible information” indicated the compound was a refuge for militants, the military said.

No Afghan or Coalition forces were injured during the operation. The coalition said it was investigating the civilian casualties as a matter of policy.