Intelligence agent killed, 26others wounded in suicide blast in Afghan town on Pakistan border

A suicide car bomb attack killed an intelligence agent and wounded 26 other people in an Afghan town on the Pakistan border Thursday.

The explosives-packed vehicle with two bombers inside blew up in Spin Boldak after intelligence agents acting on a tip-off opened fire in a bid to stop it, Lutfullah Mashal, a spokesman for Afghanistan's national spy agency, said. "We had intelligence that it was coming. The car was located, there were two suicide bombers in it. Our officers shot at it and killed one of the bombers after it did not heed their order to stop," he told AFP. "The second bomber was injured and he detonated his suicide vest, also setting off his friend's vest and the bombs in the vehicle."

Mashal added that one of the agents involved in the hunt in Kandahar province was killed and several other security officials were injured in the blast.

Kandahar's provincial governor, Toryalai Wesa, confirmed the death and said 26 people including intelligence agents, police and civilians were injured.