Heavy casualties feared in Afghan car bomb: police

LASHKAR GAH: Heavy casualties are expected following a suicide car bombing Saturday in Lashkar Gah, the capital of south Afghanistan's Helmand province, police said.

"The blast took place near Kabul Bank and the telecommunications office some 50 metres from the governor's office. As a result, six police and Afghan army were wounded plus four other civilians," said deputy police chief Kamaluddin Sherzad. "Heavy casualties are feared."

He added that many people had gathered at Kabul Bank to collect their salaries ahead of the Eid festival that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, although it was not clear exactly what the bomber was targeting.

The Taliban and other militants have frequently targeted government employees during their ten-year-long insurgency.

Control of security in Lashkar Gah passed from foreign to Afghan forces in July as part of the first wave of a transition process which is due to see all foreign combat forces leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014.