( dpa ) - At least six people, including the deputy governor for the southern province of Helmand, were killed and 18 more wounded in a suicide attack on Thursday, local police officials said.
The attack took place at a mosque in Lashkargah, the provincial capital for Helmand during afternoon prayer, provincial police chief Mohammad Hussain Andewal told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
"The bomber, who had strapped explosives around his body, exploded himself near the deputy governor, Pir Mohammad, during a congregation prayer," Andewal said.
Meanwhile, at least one person was killed and another four were injured when a suicide bomb targeting an Afghan National Army vehicle exploded in the central part of Kabul on Thursday morning, police sources said.
The attack, which took place in the Taimany area of Kabul, shattered the windows of a military bus and also badly damaged a passing taxi, while killing a civilian, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Another four people, including one soldier, were injured in the attack.
According to police sources, the device appeared to have exploded prematurely, causing less damage than it could have.
A major attack on Kabul's biggest luxury hotel, the Serena, left six people dead in early January. Among them were a Norwegian journalist and a US citizen.
Taliban militants, whose government was toppled in a US-led invasion in late 2001, have recently staged many suicide and roadside attacks. They carried out more than 140 such attacks last year.
