DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY January 27, 2010 ~ Bomber Strikes Near U.S. Base In Afghanistan

DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY January 27, 2010 ~ Bomber Strikes Near U.S. Base In Afghanistan *Source: DTN News / NY Times By Rod Norland and Abdul Waheed Wafa (NSI News Source Info) KABUL, Afghanistan - January 27, 2010: A Taliban suicide bomber wounded eight American soldiers in Kabul on Tuesday afternoon, in what appeared to be an attack on their convoy during the evening rush just outside the gates of a United States military base, Camp Phoenix. At least eight civilians were wounded as well, but there were no confirmed reports of fatalities.U.S. troops keep watch at the site of a suicide car bomb attack in Kabul January 26, 2010. A suicide car bomber blew himself up near a U.S. military base in the Afghan capital on Tuesday, wounding six civilians, an Afghan security official said. The Taliban immediately said it had carried out the attack, and a spokesman for the group, Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed in a telephone interview that the bomber had succeeded in “killing and wounding” 10 American soldiers and destroying three military vehicles. The American military, however, said none of its troops had been killed, although eight American service members had minor wounds. “There has been no indication of any fatalities associated with this incident, despite reported claims by the Taliban,” the military said in an e-mailed statement. Agence France-Presse reported that the Kabul police chief, Abdul Rahman, said that three American military interpreters were among the wounded.A Turkish soldier with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) keeps watch at the site of a suicide car bomb in Kabul January 26, 2010. A suicide car bomber blew himself up near a U.S. military base in the Afghan capital on Tuesday, wounding six civilians, an Afghan security official said. The suicide bomber approached the main gate of Camp Phoenix, located on Jalalabad Road, a busy highway in the eastern part of the capital, about 4:45 p.m. and detonated the explosives in his Toyota minivan. Sayed Abdul Ghafar, head of the criminal investigation division of the Kabul police, said the explosion damaged 11 civilian vehicles in the immediate area and wounded eight civilians, mostly day laborers who at that time would normally be heading out of the base at the end of the workday. All were in stable condition, said an Interior Ministry spokesman, Zemary Bashary. “The target of the suicide attacker seemed to be foreign forces, but we couldn’t see any American vehicle damaged there, because the road was blocked by American forces,” Mr. Ghafar said. “We don’t know exactly the casualties among the foreign forces.” The American forces blocked off the area, closing the highway to all traffic. “They won’t even let the Afghan National Police near it,” said an Afghan policeman about 300 yards from the camp gates. The Taliban had previously attacked Kabul on Jan. 18, when militants detonated at least four suicide bombs and battled against Afghan commandos 50 yards from the gates of the presidential palace, an attack aimed at unnerving the Afghan capital. The attack was repulsed, but not before three members of the security forces and two civilians were killed. On Monday night, four police officers were killed at a checkpoint outside a government office in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan, officials said. Dawoud Ahmadi, a provincial spokesman, described the attacker as someone who had been a guest at the police post a few hours earlier, and after leaving, he returned to kill the officers, escaping with their weapons and vehicle. Mr. Ahmadi said authorities believed the attacker had ties to the Taliban. The location was less than 300 yards from the governor’s office. Taliban militants frequently carry out ambushes on Afghan police posts throughout the country, and particularly in Helmand. More American and NATO personnel have been killed in Helmand than in any other Afghan province, and some of the additional 30,000 United States troops being sent to the country are expected to be deployed there. Taimoor Shah contributed reporting from Kandahar and an employee of The New York Times from Helmand Province.