Bomber in police uniform kills 21 Afghan policemen

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) – Afghan officials say a suicide bomber disguised in a police uniform detonated his explosives inside a police training center in southern Afghanistan today, killing 21 officers and wounding at least 20.

The Taliban are claiming responsibility. In a phone call from an undisclosed location, a Taliban spokesman vows that the militants will continue to launch bomb attacks on Afghan government officials and foreign troops in the country.

The Taliban have made a comeback in the last three years, and militants control wide swaths of territory in southern Afghanistan.

The top U.N. official in the country says the attack “shows contempt both for human life and for the community’s wishes.”

Over the last several years, police have borne the brunt of militant attacks. A tally of figures collected by The Associated Press shows some 868 policemen were killed in insurgent attacks last year.