Afghanistan: Taliban bombs kill 9

An Afghan policeman keeps watch at the site of motorcycle bomb attack in Kandahar province, March 14, 2012. A motorcycle bomb went off in Kandahar city in southern Afghanistan, killing an Afghan intelligence officer and wounding three people, a local government spokesman told Reuters. (Reuters Pictures)

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Defence Secretary Leon Panetta arrived in Afghanistan on an unannounced visit on Wednesday, as the United States tried to contain fallout from a massacre of 16 Afghan civilians by an American soldier.

A motorcycle bomb went off in Kandahar city in southern Afghanistan, killing an Afghan intelligence soldier and wounding two, as well as a civilian, while a roadside bomb killed 8 civilians in neighboring Helmand province, officials said, as Panetta kicked off a two-day trip by visiting troops.

More...