A spate of suicide bombings and other attacks on security forces in southern Afghanistan Wednesday left 13 people dead and 24 others wounded, officials said.

In Kandahar province, a suicide bomber blew himself up next to a vehicle carrying intelligence agents in the border town of Spin Boldak, killing three civilians, Kandahar Gov. Assadullah Khalid said.

Two children and three intelligence agents were among the 14 hurt, Khalid said. He blamed the Taliban for the attack.

In neighboring Helmand province, a suicide bomber struck a police convoy, killing two officers and wounding three, said district police chief Khairudin Shuhja. Shuhja was in the convoy but was not injured in the attack.

As the bomber approached the car, guards opened fire, wounding the attacker, who then blew himself up, Shuhja said.

Southern Afghanistan is the center of the Taliban-led fighters. Fighters regularly use suicide attacks against Afghan and foreign troops in the country, but most victims are civilians.

In eastern Kunar province, Taliban fighters attacked a police border post, killing five officers and wounding seven others, said provincial police chief Abdul Jalal Jalal.

Separately, a border police patrol in northwestern Badghis province hit a mine, killing three officers riding in the vehicle, regional police chief Gen. Khalil Andarabi said.

Fighters regularly target the police force, which is seen as weaker than the better trained and equipped national army.

More than 900 policemen were among the 8,000 people killed last year in insurgency-related violence, officials said. The high death toll comes despite some $4 billion the U.S. has spent to train and equip the police in the last three years.

PHOTO CAPTION

An Afghan police officer stands guard as the Kajaki power dam is seen in the background in Kajaki, Helmand province, south of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, April 16, 2008.

AP