Suicide blast near Nato base, Afghan casualties

by Sanjay Jha | January 19, 2009 at 02:37 am

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A suicide bomber detonated near a Nato base in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, with initial reports saying several Afghan children and adults were wounded.

The blast struck near Camp Salerno, a mainly US base on the outskirts of the town of Khost, about 40 kilometres from the border with Pakistan. Camp Salerno is the biggest US base in eastern Afghanistan.

A suicide bomber blew up a car laden with explosives outside a NATO base in Afghanistan's southeastern province of Khost on Monday, killing at least one Afghan, residents said.

A Reuters reporter saw two helicopters hovering over the base, which lies on a key road. Foreign forces had cordoned off the road.

An Afghan NATO press official in Khost said the alliance suffered no casualties from the attack, adding that seven Afghan nationals, including guards of the base, were wounded.

Earlier on Monday, two police were wounded by a bomb in another part of the province, which lies near the border with Pakistan and is part of the main bastion for Taliban guerrillas.

Removed in a U.S.-led invasion in 2001, the Taliban have made a comeback since 2005. The Islamist group largely relies on suicide attacks and roadside bomb raids in its campaign against the government and the foreign forces that support it.