Suicide bomber hits US convoy in Kabul
Sunday, 7 October 2007
KABUL, Oct 6 (AP): A suicide car bomber attacked an American military convoy on the road to Kabul's airport Saturday, killing a US soldier and a four Afghan civilians, officials said.
The bombing - on the sixth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Afghanistan - threw several vehicles on their side. Four Afghans were killed and several others wounded, the Interior Ministry said.
The attack was against US troops responsible for training the Afghan military and police. Lt. Col. David Johnson, a US spokesman, said one American soldier died in the blast and one was wounded. Dozens of shops were damaged.
"There was an enormous explosion, the windows of my shop shattered," said tailor Mohammad Isaq. "When I came out I saw the foreigners' vehicles on fire. I saw two injured Afghans and I ran to help them."
US military Humvees arrived at the scene shortly after the bombing to secure the site and take away US casualties. British troops arrived soon after that.
On Friday, meanwhile, US-led coalition and Afghan troops clashed with insurgents during a raid in eastern Afghanistan, and civilians as well as militants were killed. In the country's volatile south, separate explosions apparently targeting NATO forces killed two children and a British soldier.
The joint force came under attack during a raid on compounds suspected of housing militants in Waza Khwa district, in Paktika province. In the ensuing battle, several Taliban fighters, but also civilians - including a woman and a child - were killed, a coalition statement said.
The bombing - on the sixth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Afghanistan - threw several vehicles on their side. Four Afghans were killed and several others wounded, the Interior Ministry said.
The attack was against US troops responsible for training the Afghan military and police. Lt. Col. David Johnson, a US spokesman, said one American soldier died in the blast and one was wounded. Dozens of shops were damaged.
"There was an enormous explosion, the windows of my shop shattered," said tailor Mohammad Isaq. "When I came out I saw the foreigners' vehicles on fire. I saw two injured Afghans and I ran to help them."
US military Humvees arrived at the scene shortly after the bombing to secure the site and take away US casualties. British troops arrived soon after that.
On Friday, meanwhile, US-led coalition and Afghan troops clashed with insurgents during a raid in eastern Afghanistan, and civilians as well as militants were killed. In the country's volatile south, separate explosions apparently targeting NATO forces killed two children and a British soldier.
The joint force came under attack during a raid on compounds suspected of housing militants in Waza Khwa district, in Paktika province. In the ensuing battle, several Taliban fighters, but also civilians - including a woman and a child - were killed, a coalition statement said.