Afghan policemen wounded in blast

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Apr 28 (Reuters) A roadside blast hit an Afghan police chief's vehicle today, wounding two of his men, while a U.S. soldier was hurt when a helicopter made a hard landing during an operation.

Security is a major worry in Afghanistan with Taliban attacks mounting as NATO is set to double its peacekeeping operations and the United States is hoping to cut its Afghan force by several thousand.

''A remote-control mine blew up and two of my men are wounded but I'm OK,'' said Niaz Mohammad, police chief in Daman district in the southern province of Kandahar.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast on the outskirts of Kandahar town but the Taliban have claimed a string of similar roadside blasts and suicide car-bomb attacks.

The U.S. military said a helicopter had made a hard landing after developing a mechanical fault during an operation in Zabul province, to the north of Kandahar. One soldier was injured.

The U.S. military gave no details of the operation but Zabul is one of the southern and eastern provinces worst hit by the insurgency.

U.S. and Afghan opposition forces ousted the Taliban in late 2001. The current level of violence in some parts of the south and east is the worst it has been since then.

REUTERS CH PC1625