Afghan deputy governor killed in bombing

KABUL - A suicide bomber riding a motorcycle packed with explosives rammed into a car carrying the deputy governor of Afghanistan's southern Kandahar Province yesterday, killing him and wounding three of his bodyguards, the Interior Ministry said.

The attacker struck as the official, Abdul Latif Ashna, was being driven to work in the provincial capital, said a ministry spokesman, Zemeri Bashary.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. In a text message to reporters, Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef said the suicide bomber killed the deputy governor as well as three of his bodyguards and his driver.

The U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry, who was traveling in Kandahar, and Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the assassination.

Kandahar, located in the Taliban's traditional southern stronghold, has been the scene of several attacks recently. Two weeks ago a bicycle bomb targeting police vehicles near the city center wounded at least 10 people - six civilians and four police.

Last month, a suicide car bombing in the city center killed three people and wounded 26 others, most of them police.

"The enemies of Afghanistan cannot stop the Afghan people from development and progress by killing such personalities," Karzai said in a statement. "There are thousands of other brave Afghans who will stand against the enemy and serve the people."

Separately, two NATO service members died in a roadside bomb attack in southern Afghanistan yesterday.

Their deaths bring to 29 the number of coalition troops killed so far this month in Afghanistan. At least 20 are Americans. - AP