Afghan blast kills 3 in NATO convoy

KANDAHAR—A suicide car bomb exploded next to a NATO convoy in southern Afghanistan Sunday, and troops speeding away from the scene shot at several civilian cars. Three Afghans were killed in the violence and 19 people were wounded, including three NATO soldiers, officials said.
The blast damaged an open-top NATO vehicle and scattered the pieces of the car bomb over a wide area in Kandahar city. Three NATO soldiers were wounded, said Squadron Leader Jason Chalk, an alliance spokesman in Kandahar. He did not disclose their nationality. The suicide bomber tried to ram the convoy as the troops drove through the city, said Razaq Khan, a police officer at the scene. Two civilians were killed and 10 wounded in the blast, said Dr. Bashir Ahmed of the main Kandahar hospital. A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmedi, claimed responsibility for the attack. After the explosion, soldiers speeding from the scene fired at civilian vehicles, including a man on a motorcycle about a half-mile from the blast site.—Agencies