Abdul Malik / Reuters

Smoke rises in the sky from a suicide car bomb explosion in Lashkar Gah, Helmand province, Afghanistan, on Jan. 26, 2012. Four Afghan civilians were killed and 31 people wounded, said Dawood Ahmadi, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

Abdul Khaleq / AP

A damaged car is seen at the scene of a suicide attack in Lashkar Gah on Jan. 26, 2012.

The Associated Press reports from KABUL, Afghanistan:

A suicide car bomber targeting a NATO-sponsored reconstruction team killed four Afghan civilians, including a child, and wounded 31 on Thursday in southern Afghanistan, officials said.

The bomber detonated his explosives-laden vehicle as a convoy of the NATO team passed by in Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand province, Daud Ahmadi, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said. Three civilian international members of the aid team — two men and one woman — were among the wounded. Read the full story.

Slideshow: Afghanistan: Nation at a crossroads

Qais Usyan / AFP - Getty Images

More than ten years after the beginning of the war, Afghanistan faces external pressure to reform as well as ongoing internal conflicts.

Launch slideshow

Anja Niedringhaus / AP

Food supplies for US Marines hanging off small parachutes are dropped from a plane as a sandstorm is approaching outside Forward Operating Base Edi in the Helmand Province of southern Afghanistan, Saturday, June 4.

Air drops date back to World War II and have been used extensively in delivering supplies to troops in remote areas of Afghannistan to reduce the risk of troops encountering road-side bombs. Check out this video of an air drop by the RAF.