Suicide bombing kills 8 in east, Afghan police says

KABUL, Afghanistan >> A suicide bomber blew himself up at a police checkpoint Saturday in a volatile area of eastern Afghanistan, killing eight people, police said.

The bomber walked up to a checkpoint in Ali Sher district along the Pakistan border in Khost province and detonated his explosives-rigged vest, said provincial police chief Gen. Sardar Mohammad Zazia. The policemen were searching motorists’ vehicles at the time of the explosion, he said.

Two Afghan policemen and six civilians were killed in the blast, he said. Another policeman and another civilian were wounded.

“The aim of the attacker was to attack both police and civilians,” he said. “Unfortunately, the majority of the victims are civilian.”

Suicide bombings and other violence continue across the country as heads of state gather for a NATO summit in Chicago to discuss the security needs of Afghanistan after most foreign troops leave or move to support roles by the end of 2014.

In the past two years, tens of thousands of U.S.-led coalition troops have flooded Taliban strongholds in the south and gained a solid grip on security.

But the Taliban have shown resilience, opening up new fronts in the north and west and stepping up attacks in the east.