<span style="color: #222222;">In Afghanistan, at least nine soldiers were killed and several others injured when a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle near a military base in the southern province of Helmand today.<br />''<br />''Officials said the bombing occurred near the centre of Nad Ali district where most of the territory is controlled or contested by the Taliban. The blast reportedly destroyed the Afghan National Army facility.<br />''<br />''The Taliban took responsibility for the attack, claiming it killed dozens of security forces and destroyed several armoured vehicles. </span>