Suicide bombing at Afghanistan bank kills at least 6
The mangled wreckage of a vehicle is seen at the site of a suicide attack in Kandahar on August 31, 2013. At least six Afghans were killed and 20 others wounded on Saturday morning after suicide attacker targeted police in southern Kandahar city, officials said.
A suicide bombing early Saturday outside a bank in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar killed at least six and injured 20 others.
"The attack took place in the city of Kandahar near the New Kabul Bank branch," Javed Faisal, spokesman for the Kandahar provincial governor, told Agence France-Presse.
The explosives were detonated as both police and civilians were passing through the Kabul Bank branch's security checks to collect their salaries.
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"Tragically, the initial death toll shows we have six dead and 20 wounded in this crowded part of the city, and most of the victims were civilians, and they came to the bank for their daily business activities," a statement from Kandahar media office said.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the bombing, but Afghan officials often blame Taliban insurgents for this type of attack.
Another 12 civilians were killed on Friday evening in the Sangin district of Helmand province when a roadside bomb attack hit their vehicle.
Roadside bombs are another deadly weapon used by the Taliban, who set them up in an attempt to hit Afghan security forces and US-led international troops, but they often miss their targets and kill civilians instead.
The recent increase in Taliban violence is seen as an attempt to lower the confidence of the Afghan army as US-led forces will pull out of the country next year.