Suicide car bomb kills at least 7 in Afghanistan

PanARMENIAN.Net - A suicide car bomb attack outside a university in southern Afghanistan on Monday, July 2 killed at least seven civilians and wounded more than 20, officials said, according to AFP.

The attack happened around 7:00 pm (1430 GMT) in Kandaharcity in front of Kandahar University, around two kilometres (a mile) from a major U.S. military base, provincial police chief General Abdul Razaq said.

"This evening a suicide car bomb exploded near Kandahar university, killing seven civilians and wounding 23 others." he said.

The provincial governor's spokesman Jawed Faisal confirmed the death toll and said most of the victims were Afghans working at the U.S. base, which was once the compound of Taliban leader Mullah Omar.

"A Toyota Corolla packed with explosives rammed into a minivan full of workers coming from the base," Faisal told AFP.

Kandahar was the birthplace of the extremist Taliban regime which ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until it was deposed by a U.S.-led invasion in 2001.

It remains one of the hotbeds of the decade-long insurgency against the Western-backed government of President Hamid Karzai.

NATO and Afghan forces are the main targets for the militants, whose tactics frequently include suicide attacks, but local civilians working for the coalition are also targeted.

Two weeks ago Taliban attackers stormed two Afghan-NATO bases in Kandahar province, killing four police officers.