Four Afghans working for US firm hurt in blast

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Apr 20 (Reuters) Four Afghans working for a private US security firm were wounded in a suicide car-bomb attack today, a company official said, the latest in a wave of militant bomb attacks.

Government officials in the southern province of Kandahar blamed Taliban insurgents for the attack, in which the bomber rammed his vehicle into the company security car.

''A driver and three guards from USPI were wounded,'' company official Rohullah told Reuters in Kandahar. The bomber was killed, he said.

Two foreigners working for the company, which provides protection for road and other projects, were among five people killed in a roadside blast in a western province last month.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for that attack.

Violence has surged in Afghanistan in recent weeks since the Taliban announced last month they had launched a spring offensive in their campaign to rid the country of foreign forces.

Dozens of people, including many insurgents, have been killed in a wave of suicide and roadside bombs, ambushes and clashes.

REUTERS SHB KP1844