Twin Suicide Bombings Kill at Least 18 in Afghanistan

Afghan officials say suicide bombers have attacked a police station in the southern province of Helmand, just hours after a deadly suicide attack on a government facility in the western part of the country.

Officials say at least eight policemen were killed when three bombers stormed the police compound Tuesday in the district of Musa Qala. Two of the attackers were able to set off their explosives, while a third was shot dead by police.

Hours earlier, a suicide car bombing killed at least 10 people outside a local government facility in the western province of Herat.

Police there say the militants detonated the explosives after being ordered to stop the vehicle at the gate of the compound.  At least one other person, including one wearing a burqa, was inside the vehicle. The militants did not survive the blast. Three policemen were among the dead. As many as 22 people were wounded.

There have not yet been claims of responsibility for either attack.

The first bombing occurred near the provincial capital of the relatively calm province of Herat, which lies near Afghanistan's border with Iran. Most insurgent attacks occur in the country's south and east.

NATO troops have already transferred security control for much of western Afghanistan to local authorities. All foreign combat troops are scheduled to leave the country by the end of 2014.