July 20, 2008	Sunday	Rajab 16, 1429

QUETTA, July 19: Three people, two Afghan army personnel among them, were killed and five others injured in a suicide attack on a Nato convoy on Saturday in Spin Boldak, an Afghan town not far from the Pakistani border town of Chaman.

“Two Afghan soldiers were killed in the suicide attack,” Akhtar Mohammad, an Afghan commander, told journalists in Chaman, adding that an Afghan civilian had also died.

According to sources, a Nato convoy led by Canadian officers was on its way to Kandahar from Spin Boldak when a motorcyclist carrying explosives crashed into one of its vehicles, causing a powerful explosion.

The blast rocked the township. The vehicle was destroyed and two Afghan soldiers were killed. Five soldiers received injuries.

“Canadian officers and soldiers escaped unhurt,” Afghan officials said. They held the Taliban responsible for the attack.

A spokesman for the Taliban, Qari Yousuf, however, claimed that at least four Canadian soldiers had been killed and a tank destroyed.

“Taliban were behind the attack,” he told reporters by satellite phone.

In another explosion, six Afghan policemen were killed and three others injured in the Mawind district of Kandahar province.

According to Afghan officials, a police vehicle had triggered a landmine that had been planted along the road. “Six Afghan policemen were killed in the explosion,” they said.

The injured policemen were admitted to a hospital. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the incident. — Staff Correspondent