Suicide car bomb targets Italian troops in W Afghanistan

KABUL, July 3 -- A man driving explosive-laden car blew himself up next to Italian military convoy in west Afghanistan on Friday, provincial police chief Hekmatullah Alizai said.

"The suicide bomber exploded his car very close to a convoy of Italian forces in Shindand district at 3 p.m. local time (GMT1030),killing himself and damaged an armored personnel carrier," Alizai told Xinhua.

However, he did not say if there were any casualties on Italian forces but said two civilians died in the accident.

Some 2,350 Italian contingent within the framework of NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) have been stationed in west Afghanistan to stabilize security in the post-Taliban central Asian state.