Attack on US base kills 14 in Afghanistan: NATO

A suicide truck bomber attacked a US-run base today, sparking clashes that killed up to 14 people in eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistani border, officials said. NATO's US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said none of its personnel was killed in the attack in Khost province, a Taliban flashpoint that borders Pakistan.
The Taliban militia, which is leading a 10-year insurgency against foreign troops and the Kabul government, claimed responsibility for the attack. But the precise details of what happened were murky. An Afghan security official told AFP that the bomber drove a truck packed with explosives into the outer security checkpost of Forward Operating Base Salerno, which is run by the US military. "Initial information shows that seven Afghans have been killed and 13 others injured," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media. According to the official, the victims are Afghan workers involved in a construction project at the base. But Khost provincial police chief Sardar Mohammad Zazai later told AFP that only three attackers were killed as they stormed the base. "Four civilians were injured when the roof of a nearby house collapsed as a result of the explosion," Zazai said, adding that the bodies of three attackers had also been recovered. ISAF, however, said 14 insurgents were killed in clashes, but released no further details. It said it did not have further details on any civilian casualties. A spokesman for the Taliban claimed that a "large number" of foreign soldiers were killed, but the militia is known to exaggerate its claims.