KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP):

A suicide bomber penetrated a crowd of hundreds watching a dog-fighting competition in the Taliban's former stronghold yesterday, killing up to 80 people.

The bombing, one of the bloodiest since the hard-line regime's 2001 ouster, follows a year of record violence and predictions the Afghan conflict could turn even deadlier this year.

Several hundred people - including Afghan militia leaders -had gathered in a barren dirt field to watch the event on the western edge of the southern city of Kandahar. Witnesses reported gunfire from bodyguards after the blast, but it was not immediately clear if the bullets killed or wounded anyone.

Militia commander killed

The attack, which crumpled several Afghan police trucks and turned the field a bloody red, apparently targeted a prominent militia commander who opposed the Taliban and was killed in the strike.

Death tolls fluctuated. Kandahar Governor Asadullah Khalid said 80 people died, while the Health Ministry said 70 were killed and 70 wounded. The Interior Ministry first said 80 died before revising the toll to 65.

The previous deadliest bombing in Afghanistan killed about 70 people - mostly students - in November, part of a record year of violence last year that included more than 140 suicide attacks.

Khalid blamed the attack on "the enemy of Afghanistan" - which typically means the Taliban. The attack's apparent target, Abdul Hakim Jan, served as a commander of an auxiliary police force - often shorthand for a local militia operating with government approval _ in nearby Arghandab.