Afghan official: Suicide car bomber kills 14 in Helmand city
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A suicide car bombing killed 14 people, including 10 Afghan police officers, as the Taliban launched a large-scale attack Monday on the capital in southern Helmand province, the heartland of the insurgency.
Since the beginning of this year's fighting season, the Taliban have expanded their footprint across most of the province and have been at the gates of the city of Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital, for weeks.
According to Haji Marjan, police chief of Nad Ali district who has been deployed to the city, the explosion happened around 11.30 am, after the Taliban earlier targeted police checkpoints across Lashkar Gah. Marjan said that at least 10 police officers, including his brother, and four civilians died in the bombing in the Mukhtar area of police district 2. He warned the death toll was likely to rise as it was unclear how many people remain unaccounted for after the explosion.
