12 killed, 40 wounded in car bomb attack near Afghan stadium – official

An official in Afghanistan’s Helmand province has said 12 people have been killed and 40 others wounded in a car bombing outside a sports stadium on Friday, AP reports. The wounded were admitted to a hospital in Lashkar Gha, according to the chief of the province’s public health department, Aminullah Abed. The explosion occurred after celebrations over the Afghan New Year were winding down and revelers were on their way home, he added. US airstrikes and Afghan army operations have recently inflicted heavy casualties on Taliban fighters in Helmand province, the country’s main opium-growing region and a heartland of the insurgency, Reuters said.