Afghan Suicide Blast Kills 11; Two British Soldiers Dead

KABUL (Reuters) -- A suicide car-bomber has attacked a convoy of U.S.-led troops in eastern Afghanistan, killing 11 people, including a U.S. soldier, and wounding 58, the U.S. military said.

Earlier, a U.S. military spokesman said 20 people had been killed in the attack on the outskirts of the eastern city of Jalalabad, near the border with Pakistan.

Afghanistan is facing its worst spell of violence this year, the bloodiest since the Taliban's overthrow in 2001, raising fears about the success of international efforts to bring peace and to develop the country.

Interior Ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary said the bomber rammed his vehicle laden with explosives into the convoy as it went through a crowded market just outside Jalalabad.

Ten of those killed in the suicide bombing were civilians as were the 58 wounded.

"The enemies of Afghanistan committed another barbaric act today," Bashary said, referring to Taliban insurgents and their Al-Qaeda allies.

Separately, two British soldiers were killed in the southern province of Helmand while on patrol on November 12 with Afghan soldiers, when their vehicle was blown up by a bomb, the British Ministry of Defense said.

Also on November 12, suicide bombers struck in the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar, killing more than 10 people.

Taliban spokesmen could not be contacted for comment.