Watu 14 wameuwawa baada ya bomu kulipuka Afughanistani.soma zaid

A suicide car bombing has killed 14 people,
including 10 Afghan police officers, as the
Taliban announced it had launched a large-scale
attack on the capital of southern Helmand
province.
The armed group has expanded its footprint
across most of the province in recent months
and has been at the gates of Lashkar Gah city,
the provincial capital, for weeks.
According to police official Haji Marjan, the
vehicle explosion happened at about 11:30am
after the Taliban earlier targeted police
checkpoints across the city.
Marjan said at least 10 police officers, including
his brother, and four civilians died in the attack
in the Mukhtar area of Lashkar Gah. He warned
the death toll was likely to rise as it was unclear
how many people remain unaccounted for after
the blast.
'Fifteen wounded'
A doctor at the international emergency hospital
in Lashkar Gah said 14 bodies had been brought
to the clinic.
Speaking on condition of anonymity - as he was
not authorised to speak to the media - the
physician said 15 wounded were also brought in,
including 14 who were victims of the car
bombing and one person who suffered gunshot
wounds.
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In the Afghan capital of Kabul, Sediq Sediqqi, the
Interior Ministry spokesman, confirmed the
Taliban launched a large-scale attack on security
checkpoints in Lashkar Gah on Monday.
But he expressed confidence that the Afghan
security forces "will soon push them back".
Abdul Majeed Akhonzada, deputy director of
Helmand's provincial council, said the fighters
entered the city after breaching the Afghan
forces' "defence security belt".
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the
fighters were advancing through Lashkar Gah.
Helmand is strategically important for the
Taliban as it is the main source of the country's
opium output, worth an estimated $4bn a year,
much of which funds the war.
Provincial officials have said the Taliban now
control 85 percent of the province, while only a
year ago the government controlled 80 percent.
Source: AP