Three killed in Afghan bombings

KANDAHAR: Three civilians were killed on Monday when two bombs apparently aimed at a police commander exploded in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, police said.

The bombs, home-made devices widely used in Taliban insurgent attacks, were set off within a minute of each other as a police convoy passed by, deputy provincial police chief Fazil Ahmad Sherzad told AFP.

Sherzad said he believed he was the target of the attack, although he was not in the convoy at the time.

"I was the target. I take this road at this time every day going to work and back home," he said.

Kandahar has been the scene of escalating Taliban violence including similar bombings, assassinations and suicide attacks in recent months.

There are currently around 126,000 foreign troops based in Afghanistan fighting the insurgents under US and NATO command. The troops have for months been conducting operations around Kandahar city, and the province of the same name of which it is the capital.

As more troops are deployed to Afghanistan many are heading to Kandahar as the offensive picks up, with the aim, military planners say, of eradicating the militant threat from the region by August.