Suicide bomber hits Nato Afghan convoy

KANDAHAR – A suicide bomber on a bicycle attacked a Nato patrol in southern Afghanistan yesterday killing several soldiers, Afghan police said, a day after Nato declared the area free of Taliban insurgents.

The Taliban, who have unleashed a wave of attacks on government and foreign troops this year, claimed responsibility for the blast in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province. Afghan police said a suicide bomber on a bicycle attacked Canadian troops while they were giving out aid.Several Canadian soldiers had been killed and about a dozen wounded, said a police officer.About 25 civilians, most of them children, had also been wounded, said the officer, who declined to be identified.Nato said the blast had caused “multiple casualties” among the troops.It did not elaborate except to say there were also civilian casualties.Security forces have responded with offensives in the south and east.The commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan said on Sunday Nato and Afghan government troops had forced Taliban insurgents out of Panjwai district, about 25 km west of Kandahar city, after a two-week offensive code named Operation Medusa.About 130 foreign troops have been killed in Afghanistan this year, most of them Americans, British and Canadians.Nampa-ReutersAfghan police said a suicide bomber on a bicycle attacked Canadian troops while they were giving out aid.Several Canadian soldiers had been killed and about a dozen wounded, said a police officer.About 25 civilians, most of them children, had also been wounded, said the officer, who declined to be identified.Nato said the blast had caused “multiple casualties” among the troops.It did not elaborate except to say there were also civilian casualties.Security forces have responded with offensives in the south and east.The commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan said on Sunday Nato and Afghan government troops had forced Taliban insurgents out of Panjwai district, about 25 km west of Kandahar city, after a two-week offensive code named Operation Medusa.About 130 foreign troops have been killed in Afghanistan this year, most of them Americans, British and Canadians.Nampa-Reuters