3 dead, 13 hurt after bomb blast at checkpoint in Kandahar

An official says a bomb blast at a police checkpoint in the southern city of Kandahar has killed two civilians, one policeman and wounded 13 others.
Samim Khpolwak, the spokesman for the provincial governor, said the blast Sunday evening came from a bomb strapped to a motorcycle. The wounded included 11 civilians and two police.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast in Afghanistan's second-largest city. The Taliban routinely plant bombs to target Afghan security forces, though civilians are frequently killed instead.
US and NATO troops pulled back from volatile areas of the country last year, handing security responsibility over to Afghan forces. Since then, local security forces have been increasingly targeted in insurgent attacks.