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Global

Suicide attack on NATO convoy kills 3 civilians


    KANDAHAR (Reuters) - A suicide bomber in a car blew himself up beside a convoy of NATO troops in Kandahar on Thursday morning, killing three civilians and wounding others, the provincial governor's spokesman said.

    The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said no servicemembers were killed in the attack, which was large enough to cause substantial damage to nearby buildings and leave a large crater in the road.

    It is ISAF policy not to discuss wounded servicemembers.

    Zalmay Ayubi, spokesman for the Kandahar provincial governor, said the attack happened on the highway from Kandahar city to the border post of Spin Boldak, near a small bazaar, mosque and gas station.

    It wounded 12 bystanders, three of whom died soon after from their wounds, Ayubi said. Nine others are receiving treatment.

    The insurgency raging across Afghanistan, which will soon be heading into its tenth year, is bloodier than it has ever been, despite the presence of 150,000 foreign troops.

    The southern part of the country, birthplace of the Taliban, is particularly insecure, although violence has spread to previously quiet parts of the country.

    U.S. President Barack Obama, who will conduct a strategy review of the increasingly unpopular war in December, aims to begin a gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops from July 2011 if conditions allow.

    (Reporting by Ismail Sameem; Writing by Emma Graham-Harrison; Editing by Alex Richardson)