Suicide attack kills 17 in Afghan bath house

At least 17 people were killed Friday in a suicide bombing in a crowded public bath house in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province.

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack, which also wounded 23 people as the bath house was packed with worshipers getting ready for Friday prayers, in the town of Spin Boldak in Afghani Kandahar province on the border with Pakistan.

A spokesman for the insurgency in the south, quoted by The Associated Press, said a suicide bomber with explosives strapped to his chest had been targeting a police officer who served as second-in-command of the border patrol in the Kandahar province area. 

Officials have confirmed the officer was killed, but have not identified him as the second in command of the border patrol.

According to the BBC, Afghanistan's security institutions have been targeted in recent weeks in a wave of attacks on the country's army and police who will eventually take over security responsibilities from international forces.