At least 9 killed in south Afghan suicide attack

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - At least nine people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a community meeting in southern Afghanistan on Monday, the Afghan Interior Ministry said.

The attack occurred in Dand district in southern Kandahar province when the bomber walked into the building and exploded his device, said Zalmay Ayubi, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

Spokesmen for NATO-led forces and Canadian forces in Kandahar said none of their forces were involved.

The Afghan Interior Ministry said four civilians and five policemen were killed in the attack.

About 70,000 foreign troops are struggling to crush a growing Taliban-led insurgency and a further 21,000 U.S. troops are scheduled to be deployed in south and east Afghanistan, before a presidential election in August.

The attack occurred a day before the United Nations hosts a summit in The Hague on Afghanistan's future which will be attended by Afghan President Hamid Karzai and representatives from the United States, NATO countries and Iran.

Elsewhere, five insurgents killed themselves and wounded two people as they were planting roadside bombs in Sabri district in the eastern province of Khost, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

In a separate incident in Paktia province, which borders Khost, three policemen were killed when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in the Wazi Zadran district, the Interior Ministry said.

(Reporting by Ismail Sameem; Writing by Golnar Motevalli; Editing by Jeremy Laurence and Andrew Dobbie)