Suicide bomb attack next to police vehicle

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.

The attack in the Garmsir district of Helmand province left three of the wounded officers in a critical condition, said provincial police chief Mohammad Hussein Andiwal.

Helmand has been the front line of battles between international forces and the Taliban in recent months, and has seen some of the deadliest fighting in the past two years.

It is also the world’s largest opium-producing area.

More than 4,300 people – mostly militants – have died in insurgency-related violence this year, according to an Associated Press tally of figures from Western and Afghan officials.

In central Wardak province, a joint operation between Afghan forces and its intelligence service left three militants dead, including a senior member of the militant group Hezb-i Islami, said a statement from the Defence Ministry.

Three other insurgents were wounded, and four were arrested in the ongoing operation in Nirkh district, it said.