Suicide Blast Kills 17 in Afghanistan

A Taliban suicide bomber rushed into a crowded bathhouse in an Afghan city near the Pakistan border, killing 17 and injuring 23. The Friday attack successfully targeted a border police commander who was inside the building, preparing for Friday prayers. A local source said the commander always used that particular bathhouse before prayers. The blast was the bloodiest attack in the border town in many months, and was promptly condemned by Afghan President Hamid Karzai. A statement from the Kandahar governor's office called the attack un-Islamic. "This brutal and inhumane act was the work of the enemies of Islam and humanity," a spokesperson said.