A Suicide bomber kills Afghan policeman

Khost (Afghanistan), Feb 26: A suicide bomber today blew himself up at the gate of a police station in southeastern Afghanistan, killing an officer, officials said.

The incident happened in the centre of Khost town, near the border with Pakistan.

One officer was wounded in the attack which officials linked to ''Afghanistan's enemies'', a term often used by officials to describe Taliban and their al Qaeda allies.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the blast.

After months of a lull because of the harsh winter, the Taliban have carried out a series of attacks, including suicide raids against foreign troops and government forces recently.

Last year was the bloodiest since the Taliban's ouster in 2001 and there is concern this year could be as bad or worse amid a Taliban threat of a spring offensive and a jump in suicide attacks.

More than 4,000 people, a quarter of them civilians, died in fighting last year, mostly in the south and east where the Taliban are most active.

Reuters