Suicide car bomb kills 8 Afghans near Kabul airport

KABUL – A suicide car bomber killed eight Afghan civilians in an attack on United States troops near the airport in Afghanistan’s capital yesterday, a Nato spokesman said.

Taliban Islamist militants have threatened to step up suicide attacks on the capital Kabul this year in a campaign to wear down the will of Nato countries to carry on the fight in Afghanistan and force a withdrawal of foreign troops. Thirty-five civilians were also wounded in yesterday’s attack, but the four US soldiers inside the two vehicles targeted suffered only minor cuts and bruises.The Taliban claimed responsibility.”The foreign occupying forces and their Afghan slaves should get ready for the mujahideen’s suicide and guerrilla attacks this summer.This new year will be the bloodiest,” spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said by telephone from an unknown location.The Taliban and Afghan government and foreign forces are gearing up for an escalation in fighting after a harsh winter.But Nato is struggling to come up with more troops with some European alliance members reluctant to let their forces fight in southern and eastern Afghanistan where US, British, Canadian and Dutch soldiers clash almost daily with Taliban militants.There are currently just over 50 000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, compared to some 160 000 in Iraq, a country only two-thirds the size and with a smaller population.The Afghan army currently has around 70 000 troops and Nato countries have been slow answering US calls to provide more trainers and mentors to help expand the force.Last year, the Taliban carried out around 140 suicide bombings across the country.Many Afghans commonly react by blaming the presence of foreign troops for the attacks and their own government for failing to stop them.In the southwestern Afghan province of Nimroz, Afghan and US-led coalition forces killed 41 Taliban militants in a ground and air assault on Wednesday, the provincial governor said.”The Taliban were travelling by car when the operation was launched.Forty-one Taliban were killed,” he told Reuters.Nampa-ReutersThirty-five civilians were also wounded in yesterday’s attack, but the four US soldiers inside the two vehicles targeted suffered only minor cuts and bruises.The Taliban claimed responsibility.”The foreign occupying forces and their Afghan slaves should get ready for the mujahideen’s suicide and guerrilla attacks this summer.This new year will be the bloodiest,” spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said by telephone from an unknown location.The Taliban and Afghan government and foreign forces are gearing up for an escalation in fighting after a harsh winter.But Nato is struggling to come up with more troops with some European alliance members reluctant to let their forces fight in southern and eastern Afghanistan where US, British, Canadian and Dutch soldiers clash almost daily with Taliban militants.There are currently just over 50 000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, compared to some 160 000 in Iraq, a country only two-thirds the size and with a smaller population.The Afghan army currently has around 70 000 troops and Nato countries have been slow answering US calls to provide more trainers and mentors to help expand the force.Last year, the Taliban carried out around 140 suicide bombings across the country.Many Afghans commonly react by blaming the presence of foreign troops for the attacks and their own government for failing to stop them.In the southwestern Afghan province of Nimroz, Afghan and US-led coalition forces killed 41 Taliban militants in a ground and air assault on Wednesday, the provincial governor said.”The Taliban were travelling by car when the operation was launched.Forty-one Taliban were killed,” he told Reuters.Nampa-Reuters