suspected suicide bomb killed 12 people in Afghan

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Sep 26: A suspected suicide bomb killed 12 people outside the governor's office in the southern Afghan province of Helmand today, police said.

Police official Mohammad Ayoub said the suicide bomber was believed to have set off the explosion in Lashkar Gah.

NATO troops were in the area at the time of the blast but none was hurt, a spokesman for the alliance said.

Separately, a blast to the south of the capital, Kabul, killed an Italian soldier and wounded two other foreign soldiers and five Afghans, police said. A NATO spokesman said the report of a blast was being checked.

NATO is working to reinforce its forces in Afghanistan to deal with an unexpected resurgence by Taliban fighters, especially in the south of the country.

REUTERS