Suicide attack near security checkpoint kills Afghan policeman in Kandahar

Suicide attack kills Afghan policeman in Kandahar

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — An Afghan official says a suicide car bomb has exploded near a police checkpoint in the southern city of Kandahar, killing one policeman.

Provincial spokesman Zulmi Ayubi says the attack was at a compound next to one of several new checkpoints set up around Kandahar to try to ramp up security in the south’s largest city.

He says says three more police were wounded in the blast in Mirwais Miana district. It was followed by a gunbattle with insurgents.

Kandahar is the spiritual birthplace of the Taliban. The insurgents have intensified attacks on government targets as Afghan police reinforcements move in and thousands of NATO and Afghan troops stream into the surrounding province to pressure insurgents in rural areas.