Afghanistan: Suicide bomb leaves 13 dead

A suicide bomber on a motorcycle detonated in a crowded marketplace in Afghanistan, killing at least seven civilians and two police officers on Wednesday, the BBC reported.

The insurgent blew himself up at a bridge under construction in the Kajaki district of the Helmand province, Mohammad Ismail, the deputy of the Afghan security forces coordination office said, the Associated Press reported.

According to Ismail, NATO troops were also working at the construction site. It has not been reported whether any were killed or injured.

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“The bomber attacked a police patrol in a crowded area… Some of those injured are in a critical condition,” a local intelligence official told the BBC.

At least 23 other people were wounded in the blast, said Daud Ahmadi, the AP reported.

Another roadside bomb killed the National Department of Security Chief Wali Mohammad and three other people while traveling by car in the Nad Ali district, the BBC reported. The Taliban took credit for the second attack in Nad Ali.

Both attacks on Wednesday raised concerns about security in one of Afghanistan’s most violent provinces, which experienced fierce fighting during a surge of US troops over recent years, Reuters reported. The Kajaki district was handed over to the US Marines in June 2010 by British forces.

Even though there is a presence of more than 100,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, violence still remains prominent and is at its worst levels since the Taliban were toppled by US-backed Afghan forces in late 2001, according to the United Nations, Reuters reported.

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