KABUL, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- A suicide bomber detonated himself inside a mosque in Taliban's former stronghold Kandahar in south Afghanistan Wednesday afternoon killing himself and destroyed the mosque, a police officer in the area said.

    "The incident took place in Sydan mosque in the 4th precinct of Kandahar city at 2:30 p.m. local time leaving the bomber dead," Abdul Ali told Xinhua.

    The explosion was a pre-mature attack as the mosque was empty when the explosive device ripped through.

    A similar suicide attack inside a mosque in Kandahar city left over a dozen dead including Khakrizwal, the Kabul police chief, last year.

    Two more suicide attacks on Sunday and Monday respectively left11 people including Hakim Tanaiwal, the governor of southeast Paktia province dead.

    More than 2,300 people mostly militants have been killed in Taliban-linked insurgency over the past nine months in Afghanistan. Enditem