The other war

It looks as though Afghanistan is rapidly deteriorating into something like Iraq:

A bomb attack in a southern Afghan town has killed 18 people, while an Italian soldier has also died after a separate blast near the capital, Kabul.

At least six Afghan policemen or soldiers were among the dead in the attack in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province, when a bomber detonated explosives strapped to his body at the front of the governor's compound, officials said.

Many of the civilians killed were reportedly queuing to complete paperwork so that they could go on the Hajj pilgrimage to Makka.