1st LD Writethru: Playground suicide attack kills 10 in eastern Afghanistan

At least 10 people were killed and 35 others wounded after a suicide bomber attacked a volleyball playground in Afghanistan's eastern province of Paktika on Sunday, an official said.

The blast occurred at an open playground in Khair Kot district when youths were playing in the evening. The terrorist who detonated his explosive jacket in the middle of the ground was also killed by the blast, a provincial source told Xinhua anonymously.

The killed and the injured were shifted to district and provincial capital hospitals, the source said, adding the death toll may further rise as several of the injured remained in critical condition.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

The province with Sharan as its capital, some 155 km south of Afghan capital of Kabul, has been the scene of bloody attacks over the past years.

Nearly 1,600 civilians were killed and more than 3,300 others wounded in Afghanistan in conflicts and attacks in the first half of the year, according to a UN mission report released recently. Endi