14 killed by bike suicide bomber in Afghanistan

 
Michael Howie1 October 2012

A Suicide bomber riding a motorcycle packed with explosives rammed into a patrol of Afghan and international forces today, killing at least 14 people including three Nato service members and their translator.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in Khost city, which came a day after the US death toll in the war in Afghanistan reached 2,000 troops.

The bomber struck a group of Afghan police and international troops shortly after they got out of their vehicles to patrol a market in the capital of Khost province. Six civilians and four police officers were killed in the blast. The officers were part of a quick-reaction force. “I heard the explosion and came right to this area. I saw the bodies of policemen and of civilians,” said policeman Hashmat Khan, who ran to the scene from his job as security guard for a nearby bank. Coalition spokesman Major Adam Wojack would only confirm that three Nato service members and their translator died, without giving the nationalities.

Most of the troops in the east and in Khost province are American. It was not immediately clear if the translator was an Afghan citizen or a foreigner, Major Wojack said.

Dozens of Afghan civilians were also wounded in the bombing and the city’s hospital was treating about 30.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in text messages to media that it was behind the attack. Joint patrols between Nato and Afghan forces have been cut following a series of attacks by Afghan soldiers and police on their allies. US military deaths reached 2,000 when a serviceman died in an exchange of fire with Afghan soldiers.

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