Saturday, January 26, 2013

Afghanistan: Suicide bomber kills 10 policemen & counterterrorism official, as violence continues unabated

From the AP:
A provincial counterterrorism department head and at least 11 others were killed in bombings around Afghanistan on Saturday, including 10 policemen who died when a suicide bomber driving a motorcycle blew himself up in Afghanistan's northern Kunduz province, officials said... 14 other policemen and five civilians were wounded in the explosion...

Earlier on Saturday, a remote-controlled bomb planted on a bicycle exploded, killing one police officer and one civilian in the eastern city of Ghazni... Another five people were wounded.

Suicide attacks by insurgents have become a near daily occurrence around Afghanistan.

On Friday, a suicide car bomber killed five civilians and wounded another 25
Reuters noted on Monday that violence across the country has been increasing over the past year, raising concerns about how the Afghan security forces will be able to manage once the U.S. and coalition troops withdraw from Afghanistan. Nevertheless, despite the increase in violence, President Obama announced last week that, beginning this spring, Afghan forces will take over the lead security role in their country - sooner than planned.