Two would-be suicide bombers were killed prematurely Thursday in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar while strapping explosives around their bodies, police said. The incident occurred in the town of Spin Boldak, said Kandahar security chief Abdul Hakim Angar.

"The bomb fragments and other material found after the explosion show that the suspects were planning suicide attacks -- it seemed that they were wearing the bombs which exploded prematurely," Angar said.

Both men were Afghan nationals. The explosion took place in a shop dealing in motor spare-parts and Angar said police had detained the shopkeeper over suspected links to the militants.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2005