Militants attack convoy, kill 11 Afghan police

updated 11:47 a.m. ET June 8, 2008

KABUL, Afghanistan - Insurgents attacked a police convoy in central Afghanistan on Sunday, killing 11 police and wounding one, an official said. Militants in the east attacked and killed four men, including a local government official.

The convoy attack occurred in the Qarabagh district of Ghazni province, said the province's deputy governor, Kazim Allayar. He said at least three police vehicles were destroyed. It was not immediately known if any insurgents were killed.

Meanwhile, the BBC announced Sunday that one of its Afghan journalists has been kidnapped and killed by a gunshot to the head. Elsewhere in the country, three British soldiers were killed in a suicide attack.

The British Broadcasting Corp. says that Abdul Samad Rohani's body was found after he went missing in the town of Lashkar Gar in Helmand province on Saturday.

The BBC says Rohani was the Helmand reporter for the Pashto language service of the BBC World Service.

The Helmand provincial police chief, Mohammad Hussein Andiwal, says Rohani's body was found in a cemetery in Lashkar Gah. Officials in Helmand say that they are investigating the death, and that it is not yet clear who killed Rohani.

In the eastern province of Khost, militants ambushed the government leader of the Qalandar region, killing him and three bodyguards, said Gen. Mohammad Ayub, the provincial police chief.

Also in Khost on Sunday, a bomb exploded about 150 yards from a U.N. office, wounding two people, officials said.

Ayub said a man carrying the explosives intended to put them under a bridge but they detonated early. The attacker survived but was hospitalized in serious condition. A woman passing by was wounded.

Aleem Siddique, a spokesman for the U.N. mission in Afghanistan, said it was too early to conclude that the U.N. building in Khost city was deliberately targeted.

Three soldiers killed
In other violence Sunday, three British soldiers were killed in a suicide attack, bringing Britain's military death toll in the country to 100 since operations began there in 2001, officials said.

The soldiers were killed while on foot patrol less than one mile from their base in Afghanistan's Upper Sangin Valley, the British military said in a statement. A fourth soldier was also wounded in the attack.

There has been a surge in violence in Afghanistan despite thousands of new troops being deployed to try to stabilize the country.

The head of Britain's armed forces, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, and British Defense Secretary Des Browne released a joint statement expressing their condolences — and insisting their forces were beating back the insurgent threat.

"Every one of those deaths is a tragedy," Stirrup said. "Nothing can ever compensate for the loss felt by their loved ones and to them all I extend my deepest sympathies."

Then he added: "Make no mistake, the Taliban influence is waning, and through British blood, determination and grit, a window of opportunity has been opened."

More from msnbc.com Red Tape: Now's your chance to spy on Google In slump-hit areas, suicide rates on the rise Cosmic Log: How the Maya lived Is the swine flu shot as safe as regular vaccine? Scoop: Letterman extortion case heads to court Signs of the sacrifices of military life On Twitter: Breaking news updates | Weird and wild

MORE FROM SOUTH & CENTRAL ASIA

South & Central Asia Section Front

Police: Bomb kills 20 at Pakistan market   TV footage shows militants with U.S. ammo Obama nears decision on Afghan troops Suicide bomber kills 3 in Pakistan Pakistan government feels pressure Afghan vows to keep out corrupt officials Ministry: NATO strike kills Afghan soldiers Newsweek: Pakistan artists work with violence Newsweek: India seeks green super power status South & Central Asia Section Front   Add South & Central Asia headlines to your news reader: