Afghanistan suicide attack kills 6 people

Six people died when a suicide bomber in a car blew himself up at a police checkpoint in eastern Afghanistan today.

Six people died when a suicide bomber in a car blew himself up at a police checkpoint in eastern Afghanistan today.

The bomber attacked a police checkpoint in Chaparhar district of eastern Nangarhar province where officers were searching cars, said a police spokesman, Gafor Khan.

The blast killed five civilians and one policeman, Khan said, while four civilians and a policeman were wounded.

Militants regularly use suicide bombings to attack Afghan and foreign troops.

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Elsewhere, in southern Afghanistan, a NATO soldier was killed in a hostile incident, the military alliance confirmed.

The NATO fatality occurred Friday, the same day four Canadian troops serving with the NATO-led force were killed in two separate explosions, the alliance said.

Today's statement did not disclose the victim's nationality or the site of the incident.

Southern Afghanistan is the center of the Taliban-led insurgency. Thousands of new US troops soon will be joining British, Canadian and Dutch forces trying to reverse gains by the Taliban and expand governance and security.