KABUL - A suicide attacker on foot blew himself up near a NATO convoy in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, seriously wounding three civilians. In the east, a roadside bomb killed a policeman.
Separately, a service member with the U.S.-led coalition died of wounds suffered during a gun battle Saturday near the Tagab Valley of Kapisa province, 60 kilometres northeast of Kabul, the coalition said in a statement. It did not disclose the soldier's nationality.
The latest violence came a day after the U.S. military announced that six of its troops were killed in eastern Nuristan province -- the most lethal attack in a year that has been the deadliest for foreign forces since the 2001 invasion.
More than 5,800 people, mostly militants, have died in insurgency-related violence this year, also a record, according to an AP count based on figures from Western and Afghan officials.
Seventy-one Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed since the Afghan mission began in 2001.
Insurgents have launched more than 130 suicide attacks -- a record number -- in 2007.
In Helmand province, the suicide bomber detonated himself near the NATO convoy in the town of Gereshk. None of the soldiers were hurt, but three civilian bystanders were critically wounded.
In the eastern province of Khost, police patrolling on foot Saturday were hit by a land-mine blast that killed one officer and wounded two civilians, said a spokesman for the provincial police.
Insurgent attacks have risen sharply the last two years, and analysts say the counterinsurgency battle that U.S. and NATO forces now face will take a decade or more to win.
Last week a suicide bomber killed 75 people, including 59 children and six members of parliament, in Baghlan province -- the deadliest attack since 2001.
