AFGHANISTAN: An apparent suicide bomb ripped through a market in Lashkar Gah, the headquarters of British forces in Helmand, Afghanistan, yesterday, killing 17 people and injuring 47.
The attack prompted condemnation from Britain's top officer in Afghanistan and a rare Taliban apology.
The bombing was "a horrifying waste of human life", said Lieut Gen David Richards, commander of the Nato-led Isaf forces.
President Hamid Karzai said foreigners were responsible for the "heinous act".
In a phone call to the Associated Press, Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, a purported Taliban spokesman, expressed regret for the high death toll. "We are very sad about the civilian casualties," he said, adding that the bomb was aimed at a former police chief, Khan Noorzai, who died alongside his son in the blast.
The south is mired in the worst violence since the Taliban was ousted in 2001. More than 2,000 people have died this year, 90 of them foreign soldiers, as the Taliban resists efforts to extend the reach of the central government.
British plans for developing Helmand province have been stopped dead in their tracks. Yesterday's attack underscored how even the provincial capital is no longer safe.
A British soldier was shot dead on Sunday during an ambush on a base in Musa Qala district, the eight British death this month.
He was named yesterday as Lance Cpl Jonathan Hetherington (22), who served with the 14 Signal Regiment.