Bomb explosion in Afghanistan: suspected Taliban militant killed

A suicide car bomber was the only victim in an attack on an Afghan army convoy in this country's south on Friday, while in the north a militant was killed when a bomb he was carrying in a cart exploded, military officials said.

Photo: Bomb explosion in Afghanistan: suspected Taliban militant killed

The suicide attacker destroyed one military vehicle in the Argandab district, about 25 kilometers (15 miles) north of the southern city of Kandahar, a former Taliban stronghold, said local army commander Gen. Rahmattalluh Roufi.

No Afghan soldiers were wounded.

In the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, capital of Balkh province, a militant transporting a bomb in a cart died when the device exploded accidentally, said provincial Afghan army commander Taj Mohammed.

"We think he was from the Taliban or al-Qaida and he died accidentally," Mohammed said, adding no one was near the suspect at the time of the blast. Mazar-i-Sharif is about 150 kilometers (90 miles) south of the capital, Kabul.

Also Thursday, a roadside bomb exploded near a car carrying a district police chief in a remote area of eastern Afghanistan, wounding his two bodyguards, said provincial police chief Mohammed Ayub.

The attack happened in a remote area of the Khost province, but Hamid Hassan, the chief of Ismail Khel district, escaped unhurt, Ayub said. He blamed the Taliban for the attack, but offered no evidence to back up his claim, reports the AP.

I.L.