Suicide attack kills 4 in Afghanistan

A suicide bomber targeting officials in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday killed four civilians, a provincial spokesman said. The blast occurred in Paktia province, which borders Pakistan. It was the second such bombing in the country on Wednesday. "At around 3:30pm (1100 GMT), a suicide bomb blast in Sayid Karam district left four civilians dead," provincial spokesman Rohullah Samoon said. "The target of the attacker was apparently the district chief's office but he detonated himself before reaching the office." At least seven people, including five civilians, were killed by a suicide car bomb in the central province of Kapisa earlier on Wednesday in an attack claimed by the Taliban. Afghan civilians are frequently caught up in the nearly 10-year conflict between Islamist insurgents and the Afghan government, backed by around 130,000 US-led NATO troops. A total of 368 civilians died in the war in May according to figures released by the UN mission in Afghanistan on Saturday. Insurgent attacks were blamed for 301 of those. Last year was the deadliest yet in the war for civilians, with 2,777 killed, the United Nations has said.