Afghan officials say a suicide car bomber has killed at least four civilians and wounded 12 others in the southern city of Kandahar.
The suicide attack took place Sunday near a convoy carrying the governor of Kandahar province who was not hurt.
A convoy of Canadian troops was also in the area, but there were no casualties among foreign forces.
The identity of the bomber is not known.
Meanwhile, the new commander of the International Security Assistance Force (British Lieutenant-General David Richards) says NATO will deploy some six thousand troops to southern Afghanistan, twice as many as a U.S.-led coalition has had there.
The commander said the NATO troops will adopt new tactics to defeat the Taleban but that, at the same time, they will be a very people-friendly force that will focus on improving the lives of locals.
Afghan officials say government troops and coalition forces have killed nearly 35 Taleban militants since Friday in southern Afghanistan.
The Defense Ministry says U.S.-led coalition forces and Afghan troops recaptured the Chora district of Uruzgan province from Taleban fighters Friday. The rebels overran the district Wednesday, forcing local security forces to flee.
Also Friday, security officials say Afghan police killed 12 Taleban fighters while repelling a attack on a police checkpoint north of Kandahar city.
More than 400 people have been killed in southern Afghanistan since the start of May in a wave of fighting involving Taleban militants.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, Reuters.
