KANDAHAR, April 9: Three explosions including a suicide blast killed a soldier and wounded 16 other Afghans on Sunday, officials said. The suicide attacker struck an Afghan army checkpoint in the eastern province of Paktika, provincial government spokesman Salam Mangal said.

Six soldiers were wounded with one later dying in hospital. Two of the injured were in a serious condition, provincial governor Akram Khealwak said. It was the first suicide attack in the province, he said.

The bomber blew up a taxi in front of the checkpoint in Barmal district on a main route to Pakistan, Mangal said.

The wounded soldiers were taken to a nearby base of foreign coalition soldiers for treatment.

Twin bombings in the centre of Kandahar on Sunday wounded six security force members and five civilians, officials said.

A remote-controlled bomb was detonated in the city centre as a five-vehicle army convoy was passing, army officer Khair Mohammad told from the site.

As police and soldiers rushed to the scene, a second bomb went off on the opposite side of the road.

Officials said three soldiers were wounded in the two blasts and doctor Abdul Razaq also said three wounded policemen and five civilians, including two children, had been admitted in hospital.—AFP