AFGHANISTAN - June 11 - 'Shaped Charge' Roadside Bomb Found In Afghanistan.

Afghan security forces find a sophisticated roadside bomb of the type used in Iraq for the first time in the center of the capital, Kabul, and it was primed to hit a convoy of high-ranking Afghan officials. A NATO spokeswoman, Lt Col Maria Carl, confirmed that the type of bomb, called an explosively formed projectile, or a shaped charge, was found in Kabul in May. The bomb contained 16 kilos of explosive and was set to be detonated by remote control from up to one kilometer away, the intelligence official said, asking not to be named because of the secret nature of his job. The bomb was found in the western part of Kabul, set beside the road probably to target a convoy of Afghan high ranking officials or international forces, he said. The Afghan official declined to say what the origin of the bomb was or when it was found. Roadside bombs with deadly shaped charges have been used frequently in Iraq, and military officials there have said the sophisticated bombs have their origin in neighbouring Iran. Afghanistan has seen an increase in the use of roadside bombs in the last 18 months but most have been made from remote controlled anti-tank mines laid under or beside the road. Colonel Carl said it was the second such shaped charge found in Afghanistan, and that it was a little more sophisticated that the first. The first one was found in April in western Afghanistan, a region that borders on Iran. The bomb had similar characteristics to those found in Iraq, but it was not clear where it came from, she said. "It is impossible to say what the origin is. Obviously we are very interested in finding more about where it came from just so we can prevent more of them in the future", she said in a telephone interview. Separately on June 11, a suicide car bomb struck a police checkpoint outside the provincial town of Khost in eastern Afghanistan wounding three policemen, one critically, and eight civilians. The bomb exploded as police were checking cars entering the town. The bomb set off a huge fire and most of the victims were injured from the spreading flames, the provincial governor, Arsallah Jamal, said after visiting the town hospital. "One of the policemen already lost his leg and probably he will lose the other leg and is in a very critical condition" Jamal said.