6 dead in major Afghan Taliban attack

First attck since Mullah Omar's death, tense power transition afoot

Six people were killed today when a Taliban suicide bomber struck a police compound in Afghanistan, in the first major insurgent attack since the announcement of their leader Mullah Omar's death.

The attack in Pul-i-Alam, the capital of insurgency-prone Logar province just south of Kabul, highlights growing insecurity as Afghan forces face their first summer fighting season without full NATO support.

The bombing coincides with a faltering peace process, with the Taliban confronted by an increasingly bitter power transition after Mullah Akhtar Mansour was announced as the new leader last Friday.

"A water truck filled with explosives was detonated when it was stopped at the gate of the Quick Reaction Force (police) compound," said deputy provincial police chief Mohammad Qari Wara.

"It was a powerful explosion, which killed three members of the Quick Reaction Force and three civilians."

Baheer, an official from the provincial governor's office, confirmed the death toll, adding that eight civilians, including a child, were wounded.

The force of the explosion damaged government buildings near the site, which was littered with debris and shards of broken glass.

The Afghan interior ministry said Thursday's bombing was the first suicide attack since the Taliban confirmed last week the death of their leader Mullah Omar, who led the militant movement for some 20 years.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, with spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claiming that a "Mazda truck packed with heavy explosives... Killed more than 100 security personnel".

Taliban insurgents routinely exaggerate the death toll in attacks on Afghan government and military targets.

But in a rare admission, Mujahid said "some civilians may have been wounded as a result of broken glass".

The Taliban do not usually claim responsibility for attacks which result in a large number of civilian casualties.