Afghan donkey-bomber kills three NATO troops

A suicide bomber has rode a donkey into an Afghan and NATO military convoy, killing three soldiers and their Afghan interpreter.

NATO’s International Security Assistance Force confirmed on Tuesday three casualties in a bombing in eastern Afghanistan, but did not provide their nationalities or any other details.

Afghan authorities said the attack happened in Wardak province, a hotbed of the Taliban insurgency just south of the capital Kabul.

Ataullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the provincial administration, told AFP news agency that a suicide bomber riding a donkey blew himself up and killed three NATO soldiers and their Afghan interpreter.

Four Afghan soldiers who were also in the convoy in Sayedabad district were wounded.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the Taliban are behind almost all the suicide attacks in the country.

Along with roadside bombings, the suicide attacks often carried out by multiple fighters storming buildings and government facilities in big cities are the group’s main tactic.

Wardak is traversed by the highway between Kabul and southern and western provinces, including the city of Kandahar in the south.

So far this month, seven members of the US-led international coalition have been killed, for a total of 98 this year. Of those, 70 have been identified as Americans.