Asia-Pacific

Afghan suicide blast kills 8 US civilians

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-12-31 06:00
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KABUL: Eight American civilians were killed in a suicide bombing at a military base in southeastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, one of the highest foreign civilian death tolls in an insurgent attack in the eight-year war.

The explosion was at a military base in Khost province, near the border with Pakistan, U.S. officials said. The base is also a centre for civilians working on reconstruction projects.

"We can confirm that there was an explosion in Khost province and eight Americans have been killed," said one U.S. official in Kabul.

Some people, none of them U.S. or NATO troops, were wounded in the explosion at Forward Operating Base Chapman, defense officials said, but did not give more details.

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Asked whether the suicide blast occurred inside the base, one official said: "That's my understanding".

Attacks in Afghanistan this year have spiralled to their highest levels since the Taliban were overthrown by U.S.-backed Afghan forces in late 2001.

Civilian and military casualty tolls have reached record levels this year, with suicide attackers even targeting United Nations employees at a guesthouse in Kabul, killing five and wounding several others.

After that incident, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan were the most dangerous places for United Nations civilian staff.

Many civilians working outside Kabul have retreated into army bases as the security situation deteriorated. Bases are heavily fortified and require extensive security checks to enter.

Foreign aid agencies warned earlier this year that the shift into the military bases, and the use of military personnel to carry out development projects, risked a dangerous blurring of the boundaries between troops and civilians.

Washington is sending 30,000 extra troops to Afghanistan in an attempt to stem the violence, with NATO allies also contributing thousands more. It has also pledged more civilian support to work on development projects that aim to undermine support for Taliban and other insurgents.

Khost is one of the areas of Afghanistan where the Taliban insurgency is strongest, and most foreigners there are troops or working under military protection.

In September a suicide bomber rammed a car into a military convoy of foreign forces there, killing one American.