BREAKING NEWS

Bomb strikes near police HQ in south Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan — Witnesses and Afghanistan's Interior Ministry said a bomb has exploded near police headquarters in the southern city of Kandahar.

Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary confirmed the midday blast Saturday. He had no details on casualties or the size of the explosion.

An Associated Press reporter nearby said the blast was followed by bursts of automatic gunfire, and that Afghan police appear to be fighting insurgents in an ongoing gunbattle.