Afghan suicide raids kill several civilians

LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, Oct 19 (Reuters) Several Afghans were killed when a suicide bomber threw himself at a NATO patrol in southern Afghanistan today.

The British Defence Ministry in London said several of its soldiers were wounded in the attack, but none were killed. An Afghan army officer had earlier said two NATO soldiers were killed in the attack in Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand province.

NATO in Kabul said the patrol comprised only Britons.

''The bomber was on foot and hurled himself at the convoy of NATO,'' the Afghan officer, Shamsuddin, said.

Several bodies of civilians were scattered on the ground after the blast, some with limbs blown off, witnesses said.

In a similar attack a few hours later, a police officer was killed and four others injured outside the southeastern town of Khost, officials said.

This is Afghanistan's bloodiest year since a US-led invasion ousted the Taliban's strict Islamist government in 2001. More than 3,000 people, including more than 150 foreign soldiers, have died in fighting.

REUTERS PB RK1721