Afghan police: Suicide bomb kills 8 in Kandahar

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Afghan police: Suicide bomb kills 8 in Kandahar
By NOOR KHAN
Associated Press Writer
Dec 24, 11:31 AM EST

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) -- A man driving a horse-drawn cart laden with explosives detonated the cache Thursday outside a guest house frequented by foreigners in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, killing at least eight people including a child, police said.

Security guards at the Continental guest house became suspicious of the man and opened fired on him when he failed to heed their instructions, deputy provincial police chief Fazel Ahmad Sharzad told reporters at the scene. Injured, the man then detonated his explosives, Sharzad said.

Some of the eight who died were in a car that was passing by the area. The car was destroyed, causing police to initially suspect the explosion was caused by a car bomb.

Four other people, including a guest house security guard, were injured in the blast, which occurred near the provincial council office in Kandahar, the capital of Kandahar province, a stronghold of Taliban insurgents.

"The target of the suicide attacker is unknown. We are investigating," Sharzad said.


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