In one of the bloodiest suicide bomb attacks in Afghanistan so far in 2007, 10 Afghan civilians were killed and 14 others were injured outside a United States military base in Afghanistan's eastern Khost province on Tuesday.
The attacker detonated explosives, strung on his body, among a crowd of Afghan labourers queuing up to enter a NATO base in Afghanistan, located 6 kilometres north-east of the provincial capital of Khost.
According to Interior Ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary, the victims were waiting to pass security checks to enter the base, where most of them worked,
He said the wounded civilians were all evacuated to a NATO hospital in the province.
The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed that there had been an explosion close to Salerno military base, but said no troops were among the casualties.
A purported spokesman of the Taliban took responsibility for the attack, saying six US soldiers and four of their "Afghan spies" were killed in the attack.
Suicide attacks are a hallmark of the Taliban-led insurgency after the hardline Islamic movement was ousted from power in 2001.
"The suicide bomber was Mohammed Hanif, a citizen from Khost province, who rammed his explosive-packed vehicle into a convoy of US forces," Zabeeullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, was quoted in a statement posted in the militants' website.
This was the bloodiest suicide bombing in Afghanistan so far in 2007.
Nearly 140 suicide attacks took place in 2006, according to US military, leaving hundreds of Afghan civilians and over a dozen of international troops dead, compared to 2005.
This figure shows a five-fold increase in suicide attacks in post-Taliban Afghanistan.Labels: International Politics |
