By Mirwais Afghan and Ismail Sameem
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A suicide bombertargeting a foreign military convoy in Afghanistan killed 37civilians in an attack near the Pakistan border on Monday, theinterior ministry said.
The attack, a day after more than 100 people were killed inthe deadliest suspected suicide raid since the Taliban wereoverthrown in 2001, comes as some Western politicians call fora stronger resolve to stop Afghanistan sliding back intoanarchy.
"The suicide attack ... caused the killing of 37non-combatants and wounding of 30 others," the ministry said ina statement in Kabul.
The attack happened on a narrow bridge in the bustling townof Spin Boldak in southern Kandahar province, a stronghold forTaliban insurgents fighting the Afghan government and itsWestern backers.
Kandahar's governor Assadullah Khalid told a newsconference the bomber was in a car and had attacked a convoy ofCanadian troops serving under NATO's command. Four Canadianswere wounded, he said. But another official from the area saidtwo foreign soldiers also died.
A NATO spokesman in Kabul confirmed the blast, but refusedto provide more details. Several fuel shops were on fire inSpin Boldak after the bombing, witnesses said.
The attack was carried out by a Taliban member called AbdulRahman, a Taliban spokesman, Qari Mohammad Yousuf, was quotedas saying by the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press.
Ten foreign and a number of Afghan soldiers were killed inthe blast, the agency quoted him as saying, rejectinggovernment's accounts about civilian casualties.
Despite the presence of more than 50,000 foreign soldiersled by NATO and the U.S. military, as well as some 140,000Afghan troops, Taliban militants have made a comeback in thepast two years and more than 11,000 people have been killed inviolence.
Sunday's attack happened as a crowd of people were watchingdog fights in Arghandab, on the western outskirts of Kandaharcity. Dozens of victims were buried side-by-side in a mourningceremony on Monday.
Provincial governor Khalid accused the Taliban of thatattack, but the insurgents denied responsibility.
Khalid said he had intelligence about Monday's attack andhad tipped off the Canadian forces about it.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Mondayshe saw no need to change parliamentary mandates limiting thenumber of troops her government can send to Afghanistan,despite mounting pressure from NATO allies.
"We are not changing the mandates as they are at themoment," Merkel told reporters. "I see no need for a change atthe moment."
Germany, which has roughly 3,300 troops in Afghanistan, isunder pressure from allies, particularly the United States, tosend additional soldiers and shift them from the north to themore dangerous south to help battle Taliban insurgents.
The main mandate, due to expire in October, allows Germanyto send a maximum of 3,500 soldiers to Afghanistan. Germanmedia have reported Merkel's government seeks to increase thenumber of troops.
(Additional reporting by Noah Barkin and Kerstin Gehmlichin Berlin; Writing by Sayed Salahuddin and Alex Richardson;Editing by Jerry Norton)
