Three dead in Afghan suicide blast: official

KANDAHAR: A suicide bomb attack in southern Afghanistan early on Sunday killed 3 people and injured seven others, a provincial official told AFP.

The suicide bomber -- on foot and wearing an explosives-packed vest -- targeted a group of security guards as they stood in a bazaar, said the spokesman for the Zabul provincial government, Mohammad Jan Rasoulyar.

"The bomber exploded near them. Three people, including one security guard and two civilians were killed and seven others, all civilians, were injured," he said.

He said the attack happened in a highway bazaar in the Sharjoy district, which has long been troubled by violent Taliban activity.

Taliban-linked gunmen have been waging an insurgency against the Kabul government since their regime was toppled in 2001 when the United States led a coalition of international troops into the country.

The violence is concentrated in the southern provinces of Kandahar -- which the 1996-2001 Taliban regime made its capital -- and Helmand. Zabul, which neighbours Kandahar to the east, has seen a lot of spillover activity from the insurgents.