17 killed in Afghan suicide attack
By DPA, IANSFriday, January 7, 2011
KABUL - At least 17 people were killed and 23 injured Friday in a suicide bombing targeting a border police commander in southern Afghanistan, an official said.
The commander was among those killed in the attack in Kandahar province, said Zulmai Ayobi, the provincial governor’s spokesman.
The bombing took place in the Spin Boldak area near the Pakistani border. The police commander died along with two of his bodyguards, Ayobi said. The other victims were civilians, the official said.
The suicide attack took place in a public bath, where people clean up before Friday prayers.
Violence has escalated in large areas of Afghanistan in recent months as foreign and Afghan forces press offensives against militants in the south.
The battle against the Taliban has caused a high civilian death toll, killing 2,043 civilians in 2010, according to the interior ministry.
