Wayside bomb kills two policemen in southern Afghanistan

A roadside bomb struck a vehicle carrying Afghan police officers in southern Afghanistan on Friday, killing two of them and injuring two others, police said.

The attack happened in the Gritshk district of Helmand province, about 180 kilometers (110 miles) west of Kandahar, said Haji Khan Mohammed, the district police chief.

He said the dead and injured had been taken to a hospital, and that security forces were still investigating.

Mohammed didn't blame anyone for the attack, but previous such incidents have been blamed on remnants of the former Taliban regime, who often target Afghan and coalition forces in the country.

Last year was the deadliest in Afghanistan since U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban in 2001 for harboring al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden and his associates. Violence in the country's south and east spiked last year, leaving about 1,600 people dead, reports the AP.

D.M.