LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) — One attacker was killed while three Afghan police personnel wounded in a suicide car bombing in Afghan southern province of Helmand on Saturday, police said.

“The blast took place in Gereshk district at around midday. The bomber attacked the convoy of Gereshk police chief Mohammad Ismahil. The police chief escaped the blast unhurt but three policemen escorting him sustained injuries in the blast,” Shah Mohmood Ashina, provincial police spokesman, told Xinhua.

The injured were shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment in the district, the source said.

The Taliban militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Taliban has intensified attacks over the past months as the militant group tries to take territory and consolidate its positions ahead of winter in the country.

Helmand, notorious for poppy growing, is also a Taliban stronghold.