Suicide blast hits diplomatic convoy in Kabul

KABUL (Reuters) - A suicide bomber hit a Turkish diplomatic convoy on the outskirts of the Afghan capital on Wednesday, wounding one Afghan civilian, police said, and shots were fired at one of the vehicles, wounding a Turkish guard.

Hours after the attack, another suicide bomber, blew himself up inside the main police station in the southeastern town of Khost, police and residents said.

There was no immediate report of any casualties from the second attack, but ambulances were seen entering the compound.

A second suicide bomber, disguised in an army uniform, shot dead two police at the gate of the compound before being killed by police, residents said.

Afghanistan is going through its bloodiest phase of violence, the worst since the Taliban's removal from power in 2001.

Also on Wednesday, six Afghan police in the southern province of Zabul, and a Filipino road engineer and Afghan guard were killed in two separate ambushes in the southeastern province of Paktia, provincial police officials said.

Afghanistan's ousted Taliban claimed responsibility for all the attacks.

NEW TACTICS

After the blast in Kabul, shots were fired from two directions at the damaged armored vehicle, wounding one Turkish guard, a Turkish embassy official said, suggesting an ambush.

"It is first time this kind of tactic was used," said a Western security analyst. "They are always trying to find new tactics."

The Turkish troops were traveling to the province of Wardak, southwest of Kabul, where they lead a NATO Provincial Reconstruction Team, one of many around the country which aim to bring both security and development to outlying regions.

Security in Wardak and the neighboring province of Loghar, both of which border Kabul, has deteriorated sharply in the last month, the security analyst said, with many young men joining the Taliban who infiltrated the provinces from areas to the south.

"I was in Wardak last week. The people there say the Taliban are using the young generation who are jobless and have nothing to do -- they are giving them money or drugs," he said.

Many Afghans are frustrated at the slow pace of development and the inability of the government and its Western backers to bring security to Afghanistan more than five years after the Taliban were ousted from power.

Inspired by insurgents in Iraq, the Taliban and their allies increasingly rely on roadside bombs and suicide attacks as part of their campaign to overthrow the government and drive out foreign troops from the country.

Kabul has been the scene of a series of roadside blasts and suicide raids in recent months against Afghan and foreign troops.

Wednesday's attack came hours after three rockets exploded in a field inside the city, police said. There were no casualties or damage from the rockets.

(Additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi and Jon Hemming)