NATO base blast: 1 dead, up to 70 injured in Afghanistan

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Published time: December 02, 2011 07:20
Edited time: December 02, 2011 17:45

NATO base blast: up to 70 injured in Afghanistan

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Accident, Afghanistan, Blast, Conflict, Military, NATO, Rory Suchet, USA

A suicide bomber attack at the NATO coalition base in the Afghan Logar province has left at least 1 person dead and up to 70 injured.

The attacker used an explosive-laden truck to set off a powerful explosion just outside the entrance to the base on Friday morning, local authorities reported.

The majority of those wounded are civilians, Logar’s health director, Mohammad Zarif Nayebkhail told AFP. Seven of the wounded are Afghan security guards from the base. Atiqullah Ludin, the local governor, said the deceased victim was an Afghan carpenter.

“The suicide attacker wanted to ram his explosive-laden vehicle into the coalition forces base, but he was stopped at the gate and detonated the truck outside the base,” said local Deputy Police Chief Mohammad Abed.

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the terrorist act.

In September, 77 US troops were wounded in a truck bombing which targeted a NATO base in Wardak province, which borders Logar. US officials blamed the attack on the Haqqani network, an Afghan Taliban faction, which Washington says has strong ties with Pakistan.

There are currently 140,000 international troops in Afghanistan. The number is set to decrease by the end of 2014, but a substantial presence is expected to remain in an effort to train Afghan security forces.

Sreeram Chaulia, professor at the Jindal School of International Affairs, believes the US is likely to stay on in Afghanistan even after 2014, now that relations with Pakistan have been rapidly going downhill.

“Although there’s an argument that President Obama and his team are now moving towards an aerial-based security policy where they will have only counter-terrorism through drones and through helicopters, and that they don’t really want people on the ground occupying countries for a long time, the reality is that the Pentagon is pushing for the same old strategy where they hunker down and stay there for as long as they can,” Chaulia said to RT. “So this is going to mean that even after 2014, and especially this rancor between the US and Pakistan will mean, that it will become a justification for the United States to stay on much longer.”

Comments (12)

Nay Lin Maung 02.12.2011 22:39

The world communities start to rethink about U.S. - NATO forces are doing in the Afghanistan. [1] U.S. - NATO forces want Osama Bin Laden. In order to get Sir Osama Bin Laden, U.S. special forces go in to the country of the Pakistan. In return, the government of Pakistan does not know Sir Osama Bin Laden stays at the Pakistan. As he or she knows about Pakistan is one of the poor countries. He does not have modern equipments to monitor his borders. As a result, Pakistan faces huge problems to prevent people who comes to the Pakistan to live as illegal. Do not forget that Pakistan is fighting his own war in his own soil. U.S. does not respect the Pakistan property to kill Sir Osama Bin Laden at the Pakistan soil. [2] It does not make sense what U.S. - NATO forces are doing at the Afghanistan. First thing, all members of the NATO forces said that current government of the Afghanistan and his brother have some kinds of the peace deals. In return, U.S. - NATO forces are training Afghanistan forces to fight against with his brother. Peace and war have to come together at the Afghanistan. It is what I see about how U.S. - NATO forces are doing in the Afghanistan. [3] The current one [death of the Pakistan soldiers] is huge challenges about how U.S.-NATO forces are doing in the Afghanistan.

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Nay Lin Maung 02.12.2011 22:26

The leadership of the U.S.A. and NATO do not dream about over staying at the Afghanistan .

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Christopher (unregistered) 02.12.2011 19:26

I think your view on Americans is very judgmental , hypocritical, and stereotypic al..... Not all Americans believe in what our Government& nbsp;is doing.. In actuality I know more against what they are doing then for it! We do not think our armies should be in other countries and we also see our government& nbsp;as hypocritical in the fact that we are supposed to be a country of peace and yet we have more bases in other countries then any other... Our government is trying to police the world under standards that go completely against everything we stand for... And now they are even doing it to us... I am so sick of seeing people bash on Americans because of our Governments decisions when in reality we have no say in it and have been fighting for change for years!

The sickening fact that we are now also under attack by our own government should be enough said... But still you classify what you say a generalization for all Americans, when this is just not fact! And you are no different when you say such!

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