Sardar Ahmad

Living in Afghanistan, the world’s unrivalled producer of heroin, Faqirullah has no problem finding drugs to feed his habit. What concerns him is getting the cash to buy them. No matter how difficult, the 27-year-old says he has to find the equivalent of $4 to $6 for his daily fix. Faqirullah, who goes by a single name, is one of a growing number of Afghan drug addicts.

A suicide attacker rammed an explosives-filled car into a United States embassy convoy in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Monday, wounding five embassy staff and guards and at least three passers-by, officials said. The fiery attack was the first suicide bombing inside Kabul this year after several deadly blasts last year blamed on Taliban insurgents.

A suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded area of the Afghan capital on Saturday, killing at least 12 people and wounding scores in the latest in a series of such attacks on Kabul. It was not immediately clear who carried out the morning rush-hour attack, but similar strikes have been claimed by the extremist Taliban movement waging a deadly insurgency.