The American embassy in Kabul added that “by targeting a busy civilian area, the terrorists have once again demonstrated their utter disregard for the safety and security of the Afghan people”.
Rahmatullah Atrafi, deputy police chief in Kandahar province, told AP that the first blast had been in a three-wheeled motorbike and then, as people rushed to assist the casualties, two other suicide bombers on foot walked up to the site and blew themselves up.
Meanwhile in Logar province, south west of Kabul, the coalition was investigating allegations it had killed up to 18 civilians in an airstrike in the early hours of Wednesday, including women and children.
The coalition confirmed troops had called in a “precision airstrike” after they were attacked with small arms and grenades during a raid to arrest a Taliban leader in Baraki Barak district.
“Multiple” insurgents were killed, a statement said but when the troops investigated further they found “two women who had sustained non-life-threatening injuries” who were treated in a military hospital.
However local police and officials said up to 18 civilians had in fact been killed, alongside a number of Taliban fighters.
Grieving villagers ferried bodies in pick-up trucks to the provincial capital according to reports.
The civilian death toll from the conflict in Afghanistan has risen annually according to United Nations estimates.
Around three quarters of at least 3,021 civilians killed last year died in insurgent attacks and 421 deaths were attributed to Nato, or Afghan forces.
The death toll fell slightly in the first four months of this year, but United Nations officials said that may have been due to one of the harshest Afghan winters in decades.
Rahmatullah Atrafi, deputy police chief in Kandahar province, told AP that the first blast had been in a three-wheeled motorbike and then, as people rushed to assist the casualties, two other suicide bombers on foot walked up to the site and blew themselves up.
Meanwhile in Logar province, south west of Kabul, the coalition was investigating allegations it had killed up to 18 civilians in an airstrike in the early hours of Wednesday, including women and children.
The coalition confirmed troops had called in a “precision airstrike” after they were attacked with small arms and grenades during a raid to arrest a Taliban leader in Baraki Barak district.
“Multiple” insurgents were killed, a statement said but when the troops investigated further they found “two women who had sustained non-life-threatening injuries” who were treated in a military hospital.
However local police and officials said up to 18 civilians had in fact been killed, alongside a number of Taliban fighters.
Grieving villagers ferried bodies in pick-up trucks to the provincial capital according to reports.
The civilian death toll from the conflict in Afghanistan has risen annually according to United Nations estimates.
Around three quarters of at least 3,021 civilians killed last year died in insurgent attacks and 421 deaths were attributed to Nato, or Afghan forces.
The death toll fell slightly in the first four months of this year, but United Nations officials said that may have been due to one of the harshest Afghan winters in decades.