Afghanistan bomber kills Nato soldier
A bomber has detonated his explosives-filled car near a Nato vehicle in southern Afghanistan, killing one soldier, Nato and the Taliban said.
The bombing occurred in the town of Spin Boldak in Kandahar province near the Pakistani border, the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement on Friday.
The Nato force has now lost 10 soldiers to hostile action since taking control of the dangerous south of the country on July 31 from a US-led force that overthrew the Taliban in 2001.
“Today an ISAF soldier died in Kandahar province following a vehicle-borne suicide bomb attack,” the statement said.
“The incident occurred on the road from Spin Boldak to Kandahar, when a white Toyota Corolla drove towards an ISAF convoy, and exploded near one of the vehicles,” it added.
The soldier’s nationality would be released by the relevant country.
Abdul Wassay Alokozai, a local police chief, said it appeared to be a suicide blast and added that Nato troops had sealed off the area.
Self-proclaimed Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahamdi said by telephone from an unknown location that the attack was a suicide bombing carried out by a Taliban fighter.
“The suicide bomber was an Afghan and his name was Ilhas,” he said.