Afghanistan: Blast Targets Security Forces Convoy near Kandahar
Local Editor
An explosion was reported in Afghanistan's restive Kandahar province, just one day after a blast at a mosque that martyred 29 people in the city of Herat.
Local media reported on Wednesday it had been caused by a suicide bomber targeting a security forces convoy south of Kandahar city.
The number of casualties is not yet known, and no claim of responsibility has been made.
The incident is the latest in a wave of militant violence to hit civilians and the security forces amid an insurgent offensive across the country.
In the last week, a Daesh [ISIS/ISIL] suicide bomb and gun battle outside the Iraqi embassy in Kabul killed at least two people, and a Taliban offensive on an army base in Kandahar killed 26.
Also on Wednesday morning, three more people were injured in a suicide bombing targeting a police vehicle in Gardiz in Paktia province, local media said.
At least 1,700 people have lost their lives in attacks carried out by either the Taliban or Daesh in the first six months of 2017.
Although the Taliban lost control of Afghanistan following the 2001 US invasion, it has steadily regained ground since the majority of US and allied troops left in 2014, and is now in control of some 40 per cent of the country.
The chaos has also allowed Daesh to gain a foothold in eastern provinces.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
