TIMELINE: Major bomb attacks in Afghanistan

(Reuters) - A suicide car bomber killed 17 civilians in an attack on NATO forces in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, the provincial police chief said.

Some 6,000 people have been killed, including 1,500 civilians, in Afghanistan in the last 18 months.

Here is a chronology of major bomb attacks mounted by suspected Taliban or allied militants in Afghanistan since 2002:

Sept 5, 2002 - A car bomb explodes near Kabul's Information Ministry killing at least 26 and injuring 150 in the worst bombing since the Western-supported government came to power.

Aug 13, 2003 - At least 15 die, including a woman and children, when a suspected Taliban bomb blows up bus in Helmand.

Jan 6, 2004 - At least 12 people die, eight of them children, and dozens are injured when a powerful blast rips through a truck in Kandahar.

June 13, 2005 - A suicide bomber wearing a police uniform kills 20 people, including a police chief, in an attack on a mosque in the southern city of Kandahar, as mourners gathered to pay respects to an assassinated anti-Taliban cleric.

Jan 17, 2006 - Taliban suicide bombers kill at least 20 people in the town of Spin Boldak, bordering Pakistan.

Aug 3, 2006 - A suicide car bomb attack aimed at a convoy of NATO troops in Kandahar kills at least 21 people.