2 Afghan soldiers killed in bombing

Rockets fired at a coalition based hit houses in a village.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide bomber blew himself up next to a German military patrol outside the gates of the capital’s airport Friday, killing two Afghan soldiers and wounding 10 people, including a German and four Belgians, officials said.

In eastern Afghanistan, a barrage of rockets fired at a U.S.-led coalition base instead hit houses in a nearby village, leaving 10 civilians dead and seven injured, the coalition and Afghan police said.

Violence has been soaring in Afghanistan, where more than 4,200 people — most of them insurgents — have been killed this year, according to an Associated Press count based on figures provided by Western and Afghan officials.

Most of the bloodshed has been in the south and the east where Taliban militants are strongest, although suicide attackers have been targeting foreign and Afghan security forces in Kabul.

About the attack

The attack in the capital Friday, apparently aimed at the German patrol, tore into a group of Afghan soldiers waiting at a checkpoint outside the military wing of Kabul International airport.

“A car drove fast and blew up next to a crowd of people, including Afghan National Army soldiers,” said Mansur, a witness who gave only the single name. “A lot of people were left laying on the ground.”

An Afghan soldier said the bomber tried to ram a convoy of cars carrying foreigners. Instead, most of those hit were members of the Afghan National Army bound for training in Italy, he said.

“All the shrapnel came toward us,” said the soldier, who declined to give his name since he was not authorized to speak to journalists.

NATO said an Afghan soldier and four civilians were among the 10 wounded.

The German Defense Ministry said the blast damaged two of its vehicles and wounded a German soldier.

Belgian Defense Minister Andre Flahaut said four Belgian soldiers were slightly wounded, with one suffering minor burns and the others hearing damage. Some 300 Belgian soldiers, serving in NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, are in charge of security at the airport.

The U.S.-led coalition said militants fired 10 rockets at its base in the Chawkay district of Kunar province Friday.