KABUL, Afghanistan, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Dozens of people died in insurgent attacks, and insurgent and Taliban leaders were captured Wednesday and Thursday in southern Afghanistan, officials said.
Six civilians died in a suicide bomb attack Thursday at the entrance to a NATO airbase in Kandahar, The New York Times reported. There were no reported injuries to International Security Assistance Force troops or Afghan troops in the attack, the American Forces Press Service reported Thursday.
In Helmand province, a suicide bomb attack Wednesday in the Kajaki Sofla bazaar killed and injured dozens of Afghan civilians and Afghan National Security Force service members, ISAF said.
ISAF commander Gen. John R. Allen condemned the suicide attack.
"This latest act of violence further confirms that the insurgency has declared outright war on the people of Afghanistan and will stop at nothing to continue to use terrorism and intimidation to advance their own malign and selfish ends. ISAF will continue to partner with the Afghan National Security Forces to eliminate this scourge and hold the perpetrators accountable," Allen said.
Afghan officials said at least two police officers and 12 Taliban fighters died in a gun battle after Taliban fighters attacked a police checkpoint in the Now Zad District, also in Helmand province.
In Nad Ali District, a roadside bomb exploded Wednesday, killing the district head of the Afghan intelligence service and three other people, the Times reported.
Three Taliban leaders and one insurgent leader who supported Taliban fighters were captured by combined forces in Helmand, Baghlan, Kandahar and Langham provinces, the American Forces Press Service said.
