Afghanistan suicide bombing kills child and injures dozens

A suicide car bomb targets a Nato-led military convoy in Afghanistan, killing at least one child and injuring dozens of other people.

A suicide car bomb targeted a Nato-led military convoy in Afghanistan today, killing at least one child and injuring dozens of other people, police said. The bomber blew up an explosives-laden sedan on a highway in the northern province of Balkh as the Nato convoy approached, Abdul Rauf Taj, a senior police commander said. The official had no information on whether there were any military casualties, but said: "28 people in a bus which was passing at the time of the blast were injured. "One child was killed in the blast," Mr Taj said, blaming the attack on the "enemies of peace" - a phrase Afghan officials use to refer to Taliban and other Islamist insurgents. Nato was not immediately available for comment. Most suicide attacks are blamed on militants linked to the Taliban, the militia leading a nine-year insurgency against the US-backed government of president Hamid Karzai. Violence has increased over the last year in northern Afghanistan. * AFP