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Afghan attack: Nato troops among 21 dead in Khost blast | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
A suicide bomber has killed at least 21 people, including three Nato soldiers and a local interpreter, in the eastern Afghan city of Khost, officials say. | |
The attacker drove a motorcycle laden with explosives, apparently targeting a joint Nato-Afghan military checkpoint set up in a crowded bazaar. | |
At least 15 of the dead were civilians, two were police. Another 35 people were wounded, officials said. | |
In southern Logar province, a roadside bomb killed at least six civilians. | |
Provincial spokesman Din Mohammad Darwesh said that a tractor pulling a wagon full of people was hit by the explosives on a road outside the Logar provincial capital, Puli Alam. | |
String of attacks | String of attacks |
The attack in Khost city came just before lunchtime. There were many children around at the time, the BBC's Quentin Somerville in Kabul reports. | |
The head of one hospital told the AFP news agency that he received the bodies of four members of one family at his hospital. | The head of one hospital told the AFP news agency that he received the bodies of four members of one family at his hospital. |
The US embassy described the attack as "reprehensible", further demonstrating that the Taliban and other insurgents were "indiscriminately continuing their murderous campaign against all, including women and children". | |
The statement said the US would "continue to work with the Afghan people and government for a stable, prosperous and democratic Afghanistan that no longer suffers from terrorist acts". | |
It is the second time this month that a suicide attacker has targeted Nato troops in Khost, which is close to the border with Pakistan and hosts mainly US forces. | It is the second time this month that a suicide attacker has targeted Nato troops in Khost, which is close to the border with Pakistan and hosts mainly US forces. |
On 1 June, a suicide bomber drove a lorry packed with explosives into a Nato security post. | On 1 June, a suicide bomber drove a lorry packed with explosives into a Nato security post. |
South-east Afghanistan's border provinces are a base for the al-Qaeda-linked Haqqani group, which frequently targets US and Afghan troops using suicide bombers. | |
The group has also been behind a string of bomb attacks in the capital, Kabul. | |
Our correspondent says Haqqani militants are thought most likely to have been behind both recent attacks in Khost. |