Bomb explosion 'kills Afghan MP'

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An Afghan member of parliament and four other people have been killed by a roadside bomb in the southern province of Helmand, officials say.

The MP, Dad Mohammad Khan, was a former head of the intelligence service in Helmand. A senior local police official was also among the dead.

Helmand is one of the provinces worst hit by the Taleban insurgency.

Roadside bombs have increasingly been used against Afghan and international security forces in the country.

Mr Khan's cousin, Aktar Mohammad Khan, told the AFP news agency: "Dad Mohammad Khan has been martyred in this explosion along with four of his friends.

"I am here where the bomb blast took place. We are carrying out the bodies now."

Police officials said the attack happened as the vehicle was travelling to provincial capital Lashkar Gah.

No-one has yet said they carried out the attack.

Dad Mohammad Khan left Afghanistan during Taleban rule but returned after the regime fell in 2001.

In a separate incident, the international coalition said two militants had been killed and 22 detained by Afghan forces in two raids in the east of the country.