Suicide attack near US base kills 1 Afghan

[January 19, 2009]  KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- A suicide car bomb attack near the gates of a U.S. base in eastern Afghanistan on Monday killed one Afghan and wounded several more, officials said.

The attack targeted Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost City, near the border with Pakistan, said Lt. Cmdr. James Gater, a spokesman for the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan.

The Interior Ministry said one Afghan was killed and that six were wounded in the attack.

A second suicide bomber was waiting for emergency officials to respond to the first attack, but he was detected by police and detonated his explosives early, killing only himself, the ministry said in a statement.

Late last month a bomb-laden truck exploded outside another U.S. military post in Khost province, killing 14 Afghan school children.

Violence has been rising across Afghanistan the last two years. President-elect Barack Obama has promised to increase America's focus on the deteriorating situation in the country while decreasing troop levels in Iraq.

The U.S. has said it will send up to 30,000 new troops into Afghanistan in 2009, including some 3,000 forces in two provinces adjacent to Kabul, where militants now have free rein. The U.S. now has some 32,000 troops in Afghanistan.

[Associated Press]

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