Picnic site blast kills over 80 Afghans

A suicide bomber killed more than 80 people at a picnic spot in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar yesterday in the most deadly attack since the Taliban were ousted in 2001, the government said.

The attack will add urgency to a debate about how the US and Afghanistan's other allies can help stem militant violence and promote stability.

"This event... left behind more than 80 killed and 50 wounded," the Interior Ministry said in a statement. The death toll may rise because some of the wounded were in a critical condition.

The attack happened in a field where a crowd of people including police were watching dog fights in Arghandab, on the western outskirts of Kandahar city.

Kandahar governor Assadullah Khalid said it was the work of Afghanistan's enemies, a term used by the government to refer to Taliban insurgents and their al Qaeda militant allies.

The Taliban, behind a surge of suicide attacks against foreign forces and the Afghan government, could not immediately be contacted for comment.

The head of an auxiliary police force in Kandahar, Abdul Hakim, was among the dead, Mr Khalid said. The Interior Ministry said it was the bloodiest attack since US-led troops overthrew the Taliban government in 2001.

Dog-fighting is a popular pastime in Afghanistan. The hardline Taliban banned it during their rule, along with other forms of entertainment such as music, dancing and television.

Kandahar is a stronghold of the Taliban who largely rely on suicide attacks and roadside bombings in their campaign to force foreign troops out of Afghanistan and topple its government.