Scores Killed in Afghanistan Blast

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — A suicide bombing at an outdoor dog fighting competition killed 80 people and wounded dozens more yesterday, a governor said. It appeared to be the deadliest attack in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.

More than 300 people had gathered to watch the event on the western edge of the southern city of Kandahar, including several Afghan militia leaders.

The governor of Kandahar, Asadullah Khalid, said 80 people were killed. A Health Ministry spokesman, Abdullah Fahim, said 67 had been killed and 90 wounded, though he said the toll could rise.

Kandahar — the Taliban's former stronghold and Afghanistan's second largest city — is one of the country's largest opium poppy producing regions. The province has been the scene of fierce battles between NATO forces — primarily from Canada and America — and Taliban fighters over the last two years.