2 blasts hit Afghanistan, kill 3

June 21, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan

Two bombs hidden in pushcarts exploded less than a half-hour apart Sunday in one of Afghanistan’s most dangerous provinces, underscoring a continued threat despite years of trying to bring peace to the unstable south.

The double explosions in Helmand province were just two in a series of attacks reported over the weekend across the country.

The bombings occurred early Saturday in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province. The first explosion in front of a bank killed a young girl and a woman and wounded at least 14 other people, the Afghan Ministry of Interior said.

“I was going to get my salary from Kabul bank, and there was a blast,” Afghan policeman Abdul Tawab said at the scene.

He was among Afghan security forces who were already at the first bombing site when they heard the second blast, which occurred about a mile and a half away.

Five people, including an Afghan soldier, were injured in the second explosion less than a half-hour after the first, according to Daoud Ahmadi, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

He said a third person had died in one of the two explosions, but it was unclear which one.

Helmand province has been the scene of bitter fighting against the Taliban. This month members of the provincial council of Nimroz province, which borders Helmand to the west, flew to Kabul after the Taliban killed one of their members in an armed attack on the provincial capital.

The members asked for more security, saying Taliban fighters were fleeing to Nimroz from Helmand due to NATO military pressure.

On Saturday, two Afghan policemen were killed and five others were wounded when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Gereshk district, the interior ministry said.

In western Afghanistan, three Taliban militants were killed and 33 others were wounded in a clash with police Sunday morning, according to Sarajuddin Najebi, a spokesman for the provincial governor of Badghis province.