AFGHANISTAN: U.S Vice president Dick Cheney unhurt in blast at U.S. base in Afghanistan.

In an attack aimed at visiting Vice President Dick Cheney, a suicide bomber killed up to 10 people outside the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan. Cheney went on to hold a meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. An American soldier and a South Korean who was part of the U.S.-led coalition were killed, as was a U.S. government contractor whose nationality was unknown. NATO put the toll at four, including the bomber, and 27 wounded. Local police said 10 people died. The Taliban claimed responsibility, saying the bomber knew Cheney was visiting the sprawling Bagram Air Base, about 60 km (40 miles) from the capital Kabul. Soon after the blast, Cheney went ahead with planned talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the heavily-fortified palace in Kabul. The meeting was scheduled for Monday, but delayed when Cheney was snowed in at Bagram soon after arriving from Islamabad. NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said only four people, including the suicide bomber, died and 23 others were injured, including military personnel from the base. The Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press agency, quoting other police sources, said 20 people had been killed. Mehran Khan, an Afghan policeman at the site of attack, said 18 people were killed, " I saw the bomber's body at the site and I saw the explosive material next to his body. I was just there now, three foreigners were killed and four Pakistani citizens killed and eight Afghan civilians killed. The three foreigners are American citizen." Cheney's visit comes as Washington warned that al Qaeda and its Taliban allies were regrouping on Pakistan and Afghan soil. The U.S. has about 27,000 soldiers in Afghanistan, where it says defeating the Taliban is vital for its own security. The Afghan government, its foreign allies and the insurgents all warn of a bloody spring offensive as the snow melts within weeks. Some 4,000 people were killed in fighting last year in the bloodiest period since the Taliban were ousted in 2001.

ITN Source | February 27, 2007

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