Kabul: At least six Afghan civilians were killed and six others injured when a suicide bombers attack a large NATO military base in central Afghanistan on early Saturday, officials said.
A spokesman for NATO’s International Security Assistance force said there were no ISAF casualties.
“A suicide bomber on foot detonated near the gate of the base in Sayedabad, in Wardak province, opening the way for a truck suicide bombing that followed him,” provincial government spokesman Shahiddullah Shahid told AFP.
“Together they have killed six local civilians, wounded four civilians and two intelligence personnel. There might be other casualties as well but I don’t have information about them,” he said.
“The bombings took place in Sayyidabad district at around 6:15 a.m. today and there were also casualties on the side of NATO-led coalition forces,” Xinhua quoted a provincial official as saying.
A witness said a small bazaar near the base was “totally destroyed” by the huge explosion. Many civilians work on or near NATO bases and bazaars often spring up to cater for them.
A spokesman for Taliban insurgents claimed responsibility for the attack in a text message to AFP.
The United Nations says 1,145 civilians have been killed and 1,954 wounded in the war in the first six months of this year, and blames insurgents for 80 per cent of the deaths.
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