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| Afghan bike bomber kills troops | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A suicide bomber has killed at least four foreign soldiers in an attack on a Canadian patrol in the south Afghan province of Kandahar. | |
| Police said the bomber drove a bicycle laden with explosives into troops and children, and civilians were also hurt. | |
| Nato would only say the soldiers were from the international force Isaf, adding that other troops were wounded. | |
| The blast occurred in Panjwayi district, scene of recent fierce clashes between troops and the Taleban. | The blast occurred in Panjwayi district, scene of recent fierce clashes between troops and the Taleban. |
| With the explosion, all the shouting of kids was ended and you could hear cries Bystander Mohammed Karim href="/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/5349310.stm" class="">On the front line | |
| Isaf - the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force - announced on Sunday it had successfully completed a mission to drive out the insurgents from the district, about 25km (15 miles) west of the city of Kandahar. | |
| Hundreds of people have been killed in the worsening violence in Afghanistan this year, many of them in suicide bombings across the south and east. | |
| A spokesman for the Taleban said the group carried out the latest attack. | |
| 'Wounded were running' | |
| Isaf said the latest bomb attack in the south occurred about 0930 local time (0500 GMT). | |
| Suicide attacks are common in parts of Afghanistan | |
| Local police said a patrol of Canadian soldiers were outside a school on foot, handing out pens and other items to children when a suicide bomber on a bicycle rode into the crowd. | |
| The explosives were in a crate on the back of his bike, an official said. | |
| One bystander described a horrific scene after the explosion. | |
| "Kids were running towards the Canadian convoy because they were giving out pens and notebooks to the children," Mohammed Karim told the AFP news agency. | |
| "A man riding on a bicycle approached the crowd and detonated in the crowd. | |
| "With the explosion, all the shouting of kids was ended and you could hear cries and people running to all sides. Some of the wounded were also running." | |
| Troops cordoned off the blast site, Isaf said, and soldiers were evacuated to military medical facilities for treatment. | |
| Taleban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf said the bomber was a young Afghan from Kandahar and promised more attacks. | |
| Nato operation | Nato operation |
| Nato said on Sunday that at least 400 Taleban fighters had been killed in a two-week operation codenamed Medusa, the biggest offensive since Nato took over southern Afghanistan from US-led forces at the end of July. | Nato said on Sunday that at least 400 Taleban fighters had been killed in a two-week operation codenamed Medusa, the biggest offensive since Nato took over southern Afghanistan from US-led forces at the end of July. |
| The deaths cannot be independently verified. | The deaths cannot be independently verified. |
| Isaf commander Lt-Gen David Richards said the Taleban had been forced out of the district and the next phase was to maintain security to allow thousands of people who had fled the fighting to return home, and then to start rebuilding and development projects. | |
| The BBC's Alastair Leithead in Kabul says the Nato mission emphasises this aspect, but has been bogged down by fighting over the past six weeks. | |
| The operation in Panjwayi is seen as a major test of the mission's strategy, which is attempting to win the support of local people for the government, our correspondent adds. |