Afghan suicide blast kills 9

A suicide bomber on a motorbike detonated his explosives in a crowded marketplace near Afghan police Saturday, killing nine people and injuring at least 29, officials said.

The blast killed two police officers and seven civilians in the city of Spin Boldak in the southern province of Kandahar near the border with Pakistan, NATO's International Security Assistance force said in a statement.

NATO evacuated 11 of the wounded victims by helicopter to an alliance-run hospital, while the rest were taken to the Spin Boldak hospital, the statement said.

Attacks against Afghan police have become a trademark of Taliban suicide bombers. More than 600 police have been killed in insurgency-related violence this year, the Interior Ministry has said.

Violence has killed more than 5,200 people this year, according to an Associated Press count based on official figures, the deadliest year since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.