Kabul: A bomb exploded in southern Afghanistan's largest city of Kandahar yesterday, killing at least one person and wounding two, Afghan officials said. It followed the killing of a local government leader near the country's volatile eastern border region earlier in the day.
The Kandahar bomb went off at the city's customs house during a visit by Nato troops, police chief Khan Mohammad Mujahid said. He said an Afghan interpreter was killed, and at least two people were wounded in the attack.
The government building is used by residents to clear customs paperwork on imported items. Visitors typically must undergo pat-downs to enter, raising questions about security procedures at the facility.
Mujahid said the bomber was able to enter the building before detonating the bomb. Zalmai Ayubi, the spokesman for the Kandahar provincial governor, said only that the explosion occurred near the building. Conflicting reports are common in the immediate aftermath of bombings.
Nato spokesmen in Kabul said they had reports of the blast and were investigating.
Kandahar is located in the Taliban's traditional southern stronghold. A suicide car bomb struck outside the house of the police chief in the city on Friday, wounding at least two people.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for yesterday's attack within minutes of the blast. Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said a team of two suicide attackers was involved.
Earlier in the day, gunmen killed the acting chief of Khost province's Bak district on his way to work. The official, identified as Sayed Mohammad, was shot by four men wearing Afghan national army uniforms as he was driving from his home to the office at about 9 in the morning, provincial officials said.
The daytime shooting is the latest deadly attack in Khost, the scene of numerous insurgent strikes, including a high-profile suicide bombing at a remote CIA outpost in late 2009.
