9 killed, 29 wounded in suicide blast

A suicide bomber on a motorbike detonated explosives in a crowded market place near Afghan police, killing nine people and wounding at least 29.

A suicide bomber on a motorbike detonated explosives in a crowded market place near Afghan police, killing nine people and wounding at least 29, officials said.

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The blast on Saturday killed two police officers and seven civilians in the city of Spin Boldak in the southern province of Kandahar near the border with Pakistan, a statement from NATO's International Security Assistance force said.

NATO evacuated 11 of the wounded victims by helicopter to an alliance-run hospital, while the rest were taken to the Spin Boldak hospital, it said.

Such attacks against Afghan police have become a trademark of Taliban suicide bombers. More than 600 police have been killed in insurgency-related violence this year, the Interior Ministry has said.

Violence has killed more than ,200 people this year, according to an Associated Press count based on official figures, the deadliest year since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.