More Violence In Afghanistan

The Associated Press reports that an explosion in the office of an American defense contractor in Kabul Sunday, killing as many as six people:

The blast hit the office of Dyncorp Inc., an American firm that provides security for Afghan President Hamid Karzai on behalf of the United States and works for the U.S. government in Iraq, said Nick Downie of the Afghanistan NGO Security Office.

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Dyncorp Inc. is a division of Computer Science Services, Inc., based in El Segundo, Calif.

The BBC reports that "Taleban militants told Reuters news agency it was a suicide car bomb attack by one of their fighters."

An at a school in southeastern Afghanistan, another explosion killed nine children and one adult. The Associated Press reports that an Afghan official said the school explosion was caused by a bomb, though the military said it was still unclear:

"There was an explosion, that's all we know," American spokeswoman Master Sgt. Ann Bennett said.

Not all the news from Afghanistan is bad. The Associated Press reports that a renegade warlord was arrested just weeks after his troops clashed with militiamen loyal to a powerful regional governor.

Amanullah, a Pashtun warlord who goes by only one name, was brought to Kabul on Friday from the western city of Herat, said Jawed Ludin, a spokesman for President Hamid Karzai. Ludin said Amanullah agreed to the transfer, but officials speaking on condition of anonymity said he had little choice and was essentially being kept under arrest.

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Government officials indicated that the move against Amanullah was part of efforts to eliminate private armies that have faced off in several Afghan provinces in recent months, compromising security for Oct. 9 national elections.

Amanullah and Khan swear allegiance to Karzai's government, but both often act in their own interests. Neither has agreed to disarm their troops as part of a slow-going nationwide program to demobilize tens of thousands of private soldiers.

Dozens were killed in fighting that broke out earlier this month between militiamen loyal to Amanullah and those that answer to Herat Gov. Ismail Khan, an ethnic Tajik strongman who rules the city with an iron fist. In March fighting in Herat included tank battles.

The Associated Press also reports that in southern Zabul province, U.S. and Afghan soldiers conducting a sweep arrested 22 suspected Taliban after a firefight in a forbidding mountain area.

U.S. military spokesman Maj. Scott Nelson confirmed operations in Zabul and Ghazni and said 22 Taliban suspects had been arrested.