Afghanistan suicide bomb wounds 4 Canadian troops

KANDAHAR, July 7 (Reuters) A suicide car bomber wounded four Canadian troops near the southern Afghan city of Kandahar today, a Canadian army spokesman said.

Taliban insurgents have carried out increasing numbers of suicide and roadside bombs in Afghanistan this year after suffering heavy casualties in conventional attacks against Afghan government, NATO and US forces.

''Four Canadian soldiers were injured when the vehicle they were travelling in was struck by a suicide, vehicle-borne, improvised explosive device,'' Major Dale MacEachern said. ''The injuries sustained by the soldiers are not serious.'' Two British soldiers were wounded in a similar suicide car bomb attack near the capital Kabul yesterday. Foreign forces are struggling to combat the threat of such attacks.

A roadside bomb in Kandahar on Wednesday that killed six Canadian troops and their Afghan translator. It completely destroyed their toughest armoured vehicle and left a crater three metres wide and 1.5 metres deep.

Nearly 50,000 NATO and US troops are stationed in Afghanistan fighting Taliban insurgents who have regrouped since being ousted from power by US-led forces in 2001.

REUTERS JT KP1337