Tuesday, September 26 2006 16:49 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kabul: At least 18 people were killed and 17 injured in a suicide attack in Helmand province on today (Sept 26, 2006), officials said. The suicide attacker targeted Afghan Muslims gathered at an office to register themselves for the Haj pilgrimage. "Three Afghan police, three army soldiers and 12 civilians were killed in the blast at the gate of the governor's office, said Haji Muhaiuddin Khan," spokesperson for Helmand's governor. Khan said the suicide bomber tried to enter the governor's office and detonated explosives in a vest attached to his body when he was identified by a soldier as a bomber. Helmand is one of southern Afghanistan's most volatile provinces with 4,000 British troops based there to fight the Taliban insurgency. Earlier Tuesday an improvised explosive device (IED) injured three NATO-led International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) troops and five Afghan civilians in the Afghanistan capital Kabul, officials said. The remote controlled IED was planted under a bridge, 10 km south of Kabul, and exploded while a NATO-led ISAF patrol was crossing the bridge, said Zemary Bashari, a spokesperson for the Afghan Interior Ministry. The Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) agency reported one Italian soldier was killed in the explosion, which took place on the bridge linking the Charasiab and Sang-e-Nawishta towns south of Kabul.