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Suicide Bomb Sparks Security Concerns in Afghan Capital

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A car bomb exploded in the Afghan capital on Friday, killing the driver and injuring two pedestrians. The attack comes just days before Afghanistan's new Parliament will convene not far from where the blast occurred.

Officials say the attack was apparently a suicide mission.

The explosion slightly damaged a car driven by members of the NATO-led International Security Force, known as ISAF.

ISAF spokesman, Major Andrew Elms, spoke to reporters Friday shortly after the bomb went off.

"Two civilians have been injured in the explosion," said Andrew Elms. "In the area ISAF vehicles were patrolling and one vehicle was caught in the explosion. There have been no casualties from ISAF."

He said ISAF forces assisted local police in securing the area and investigating the attack.

The car bomb occurred just a few hundred meters from Afghanistan's parliamentary building.

The new assembly will convene Monday, opening Afghanistan's first elected parliament in more than 30 years.

The attack seemed to confirm widespread fears that Taleban insurgents may target the landmark session, considered a major advance for Afghanistan's new democracy. The parliament was elected in October, the final step in giving Afghanistan a new government to replace the hard-line Islamic Taleban regime in 2001.

The blast also weakens Kabul's reputation for security. The capital is heavily patrolled by thousands of national and international security forces.

It is, by and large, considered immune to the insurgent attacks that still plague other parts of the country.

Thursday, suspected Taleban rebels in southern Afghanistan executed a teacher for ignoring orders to stop educating girls.

Police officials in Helmand Province say two men dragged the teacher out of his classroom and shot him just a few feet from the school entrance.

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