News - Afghanistan

Afghan local officials on Sunday said that a bomb exploded near Kandahar police headquarters, killing seven people including five Afghan police.

Nineteen others were wounded in the blast including six Afghan police and thirteen civilians, the provincial government said in a statement.

The incident took place at 12:00 am local time in Kandahar city when a car bomb exploded in a parking area near Kandahar police headquarters.

Officials in Kandahar's Maiwand hospital confirmed the casualties.

The blast was large enough that it shattered windows in nearby buildings.

Afghan security forces are among the victims, officials added.

Afghan and foreign troops are said to have arrived in the area.

An eyewitness said he heard a heavy explosion in the area.

No group including the Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Insurgents frequently launch attacks against government and military targets in the province, despite intensive efforts by Nato-led forces in recent years to improve security there.

It comes as on Saturday the United Nations said that civilian deaths in Afghanistan had risen for the fifth year in a row - with 3,021 deaths in 2011 compared with 2,790 in 2010 and 2,412 in 2009.

Taliban-led insurgents caused 77 percent of the deaths last year, up to 14 percent from 2010, while Nato-led and Afghan government forces were responsible for killing 410 civilians -14 percent of the total, it added.