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Seventeen killed in Afghan suicide blast
A suicide bomber struck a crowded bath house in southern Afghanistan on Friday, blowing himself up and killing 17 others as they prepared for afternoon prayers.
The midday attack in the border town of Spin Boldak, over an hour's drive southeast of Kandahar city, also wounded at least 23 people, according to Afghan officials.
Officials believe the attacker was after a high-ranking police commander named Ramazan, who was inside bathing at the time. He died in the blast.
Ramazan was second-in-command to border police commander Gen. Abdul Raziq, who leads a militia that has raided Taliban redoubts across Kandahar province.
Two other members of the border police were wounded in the attack. The rest of the victims appear to have been civilians.