Afghan officials say two bomb attacks in the volatile southern Helmand province killed at least 16 people Wednesday.
In the first attack, a suicide bomber on a motorcycle killed 10 civilians and two police officers in the Kajaki district. More than 20 people were wounded in the blast.
The second attack took place hours later in the Nad Ali district. A provincial spokesman, Daud Ahmadi, said an Afghan intelligence official, two of his bodyguards, and a fourth person were killed by a remote-controlled bomb.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the second attack.
The commander of International Security Assistance Force, U.S. General John R. Allen, condemned the attacks. In a statement Wednesday, Allen said "these attacks against the people of Afghanistan have no effect on the progress we are together making here with our Afghan partners and will only further isolate the Taliban from the process of peace negotiation."
General Allen added that "this latest act of violence further confirms that the insurgency has declared outright war on the people of Afghanistan and will stop at nothing to continue to use terrorism and intimidation to advance their own malign and selfish ends."
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
