Eighteen dead in suicide blast at Afghan military base as Cheney visits - UPDATE |
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Tue, 27 Feb 2007 08:37
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- (adds details, quotes)BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (XFN-ASIA) - A suicide attack outside a US military base in Afghanistan where Vice President Dick Cheney was visiting killed 18 people including three foreign soldiers, officials said.Cheney's spokeswoman said he was not injured in the incident, which came after bad weather forced him to stay overnight at the base during a surprise visit for talks on the fight against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.'The vice president is safe,' spokeswoman Lea Anne McBride said. 'The vice president is fine.'The Afghan interior ministry said 18 people were killed in the attack, which took place around 10am local time while Cheney was preparing to depart the base.'Initial reports are stating that 18 people were killed and three of them are foreign soldiers,' interior ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary told Agence France-Presse.'The 15 others are civilian Afghan workers who wanted to enter Bagram air base for their work. On injuries we do not have exact reports.'He did not specify if the dead soldiers at the base -- the largest US military facility in the strife-torn country -- were Americans.The attack occurred inside one of the security gates surrounding the heavily guarded base some 60 kilometres north of the capital Kabul.'It was a suicide bombing. It took place between the main gate and the gate guarded by American soldiers,' said Bagram district governor Kabir Ahmad.afp/rc
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Two dead in suicide blast at Afghan air base as Cheney visits - UPDATE 