The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reuters, Kabul

Two U.S. soldiers were killed in a suicide car bomb attack in a market in southern Afghanistan, NATO said Friday, adding the Taliban had claimed responsibility.

The attack happened Thursday beside a busy market in the Maywand district of Kandahar province and a district police chief told Reuters three civilians were also killed. NATO-led forces identified one dead civilian.

The attack also wounded 21 civilians.

"The bomber's target was a busy market. We strongly condemn this attack t This attack shows the real face of the Taliban, who have claimed responsibility for this barbaric action," General David McKiernan, commander of NATO-led troops in Afghanistan, said in a statement. NATO forces in Kabul said a Taliban spokesman posted a statement on a website, claiming responsibility. Kandahar, one of Afghanistan's most dangerous provinces, is home to the headquarters of NATO-led forces for their operations in the south, where more than 18,000 mainly Canadian, British, Dutch and U.S. troops are locked in a battle against a resurgent Taliban.

Heart report adds: A suicide bomber killed 10 civilians, a senior Afghan police officer and his bodyguard in southwest Afghanistan Friday, a provincial governor said.

At least 20 civilians were also wounded in the attack and the toll could rise further as casualties were still being pulled from the rubble of four shops destroyed in the blast in a market in Zaranj, the capital of Nimroz province, its governor Ghulam Dastegir-Azad told Reuters.

A Taliban spokesman said they had carried out the attack, which he said killed eight policemen, including two police commanders. The Taliban often exaggerate the number of security forces they have killed.

The attack comes a day after two U.S. soldiers and a senior Afghan policeman were killed by a Taliban suicide bomber in the southern province of Kandahar.

Late Thursday, a car packed with explosives was detonated beside a busy market in the Maiwand district of Kandahar, killing two U.S. soldiers, NATO said.

Some 21 civilians were also wounded by the blast and a district police chief told Reuters three civilians were also killed, while NATO said one civilian had been killed.

More than 18,000 mainly Canadian, British, Dutch and U.S. troops are based in southern Afghanistan, locked in a fierce battle against a resurgent Taliban.

The United States is planning to send more than 20,000 troops to Afghanistan in the next six months, most of them to the south, the birthplace of the Taliban.