Afganistan Bombing: 13 killed, 11 wounded

A suspected suicide bomber blew up a guard post outside police headquarters in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, killing 13 people and wounded 11, officials said.

Photo: Afganistan Bombing: 13 killed, 11 wounded

Purported Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammed Yousaf claimed responsibility for the bombing on behalf of the hard-line militia, and threatened more attacks.

Ten of the dead and five of the wounded were police who were standing guard when the assault occurred, said Mamoon Khan, a doctor at Kandahar city's Mirwaise Hospital, which was treating the injured. The rest of the victims were civilians.

A senior police officer at the site of the blast, Jan Mohammed, said the bomb destroyed a guard post outside the police headquarters.

The attacker drove a "motorbike straight into the guard post and then there was an enormous explosion," he said.

A reporter for The Associated Press saw three bodies lying on the ground covered in blood and several wounded people being carried away.

The site of the blast is up against a concrete wall that surrounds the heavily guarded police headquarters. Several cars and motorbikes in the area were destroyed, but the wall and the buildings inside the police compound were not damaged.

Afghan and Canadian troops cordoned off the area.

Yousaf said the bomber was a Taliban member from Kandahar province.

"The Taliban did this suicide attack. We will pursue these kind of attacks against government or coalition forces," he told The Associated Press in a phone call from an undisclosed location about an hour after the bombing, reports the AP.

I.L.