Taleban attack kills 13:

Subcontinent

A Taleban suicide bomber killed at least 13 people and wounded several more in an attack on a convoy of Afghan soldiers in Helmand province late Sunday, an official said.

It was the latest in a series of deadly blows to Afghanistan’s beleaguered security forces and yet again underlined spiralling insecurity in the war-torn nation.

“A suicide bomber detonated an explosive-filled car as the Afghan National Army convoy passed a small market in Nawa District of Helmand,” Omar Zwak, a spokesman for the provincial governor, told AFP.

He added that civilians and forces personnel were among the dead while more than a dozen others had been wounded.

A source working at a nearby hospital told AFP on condition of anonymity that the bodies of 15 victims had been brought to the hospital. Another 19 injured were also admitted, he added.

“The majority of the dead belong to Afghan forces and most of the wounded are civilians,” the source said.

The Taleban claimed responsibility for the attack in a WhatsApp message sent to journalists.

The deadly assault came days after a Taleban suicide bomber killed five civilians and wounded dozens of others, mainly children, when he detonated a car filled with explosives at a police headquarters in Lashkar Gah, Helmand’s capital. (AFP)