Kabul - A suicide bomber targeted a convoy of NATO forces in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing 12 civilians and wounding 32 other people including two policemen, while eight Taliban fighters were killed in separate incidents, officials said. The bomber detonated his explosive-laden motorbike close to a convoy of NATO-led forces in the main market of Gerishk district of southern Helmand province, Daoud Ahamdi, spokesman for the provincial governor said.
A spokesman for NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed that their forces were attacked by a suicide bomber, but said they were still waiting for confirmation whether there was any casualties among the soldiers.
No group immediately took responsibility for Wednesday's attack. Taliban militants, who were driven from power by US-led invasion in late 2001, have been responsible for hundreds of such attack in the past.
There are around 70,000 international troops currently stationed in Afghanistan. The US government has ordered more than 20,000 additional combat soldiers and military advisors to arrive in the country in the coming months.
Meanwhile, Taliban militants attacked an army outpost in Yahyakhel district of the south-eastern Paktia province Wednesday, but the soldiers at the post pushed them back, the Afghan Defence Ministry said in a statement.
Five militants were killed and another was detained by army soldiers during the engagement, the statement added, but did not say whether there were any casualties among their forces.
Separately, three militants were killed Wednesday night when a roadside mine they tried to plant in the southern province of Helmand exploded, the Interior Ministry said.
Three other militants clashed with police forces after they arrived in the area, the ministry said. Two more militants were wounded in the gun battle, but all three managed to escape.
The Afghan Defence Ministry also said its forces rescued 11 kidnapped army soldiers and an Afghan interpreter, who were taken hostage by Taliban militants in Gazniabad district of the eastern Kanur province.
The militants attacked an army post in the area last week, killing four soldiers, wounding three more and taking the others hostage.
The army statement did not say when and how they secured the release of the hostages, but said the clash and the rescue operation left 24 militants dead.
Taliban-led violence is still on the rise in Afghanistan around eight years since the ouster of the Taliban regime. The militants vowed to increase their attacks as the county is expecting more US troops by summer this year.
