3 Americans injured in suicide explosion in S. Afghanistan

Three Americans were injured Friday in a suicide car bomb in Afghan southern province of Helmand, U.S. military said and denied the former report about the involvement of British soldiers.

"Two U.S. service members and one U.S. civilian contractor received minor injuries today when a suicide car bomb exploded outside the main gates of the Lashkar Gah Provincial Reconstruction Team compound in Helmand province at 11:30 a.m. ( 0700 GMT) today," U.S. military said in a press release.

"The suicide bomber was killed in the blast. A nearby pickup truck and the bomber's vehicle were destroyed," it added.

Afghan National Police officers are at the scene of the explosion investigating this attack, according to the release.

"This attack on Coalition Forces, like so many others that have occurred in southern Afghanistan in the last month, failed," said Brig.-Gen. David Fraser, commander of the Coalition's Combined Task Force Aegis. "This latest attack won't affect our on-going efforts to work with Afghan authorities to improve security in Helmand."

In the previous report from a local official, two British soldiers were injured in the suicide car explosion in Helmand.

The southern Helmand, Kandahar, Uruzgan and Helmand province, with the deployment of more foreign troops, have become the hotspot as the increase of the Taliban-linked militancy.

Four Afghan police were killed in a clash with militants in Nawzad district of Helmand Wednesday when they were conducting the poppy land destruction operations.

More than 200 persons have been killed in Taliban-linked militancy including almost 20 foreign troops since the beginning of this year.

Source: Xinhua