AFGHANISTAN: Taliban suicide bombers killed at least 26 people in two attacks in southern Afghanistan yesterday, a day after a Canadian diplomat and two civilians were killed in another attack in the area.
The combined toll was the worst in a day from suicide bombings in Afghanistan since US-led forces overthrew the Taliban in late 2001 and came just hours after President Hamid Karzai expressed concern about an increase in such attacks.
At least 20 people died in the town of Spin Boldak, bordering Pakistan, when a bomber on a motorcycle detonated a device after riding into a playground where hundreds of people had gathered for a festival, officials said.
Earlier, another suicide bomber hurled himself in front of an Afghan army vehicle in the heart of the provincial capital, Kandahar, 110km (70 miles) to the north, killing three Afghan soldiers and two civilians.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for both bombings. - (Reuters)