A Taliban suicide bomber wounded three civilians when he blew himself up as he was challenged by police in the Afghan capital, Kabul, today.
Taliban militants have launched some 100 suicide attacks so far this year, mostly targeting Afghan and international security forces, but as much as 80 pe rcent of their victims are civilians, security experts say.
The bomber struck early in the morning in the Gozargah area of the capital, next to the walls of the historic tomb of Babur, the 16th century founder of India's Mughal dynasty.
"It was an attack next to be Babur gardens," said Interior Ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashari. "The suicide bomber wanted to get into the (centre of the) city, but there was a strong security checkpoint of the police so he was not able to infiltrate.
"He jumped out of the car and detonated himself, as a result of that, fortunately, we do not have a big number of casualties. Only three civilians were injured," he said.
Police challenged the bomber as he approached a checkpoint, another ministry official said.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack and said it targeted an Afghan army bus, but there were no buses in the area at the time.
Bomb attacks in Kabul are comparatively rare compared with cities in the south and east, where the Taliban insurgency is concentrated.
Reuters