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Car bomber kills one at Kabul airport

A suicide bomber in a car targeting a patrol of German soldiers blew himself up outside the gates of the Afghan capital's airport yesterday, killing an Afghan soldier and wounding four Belgian troops, officials and witnesses said.

The blast, aimed at a patrol of German forces, missed its intended target and tore into a group of Afghan soldiers waiting at a checkpoint outside the military wing of Kabul International Airport, witnesses said.

The German Defense Ministry said that the blast damaged two of their vehicles, but that no German troops were hurt.

Belgian Defense Minister Andre Flahaut said four Belgian soldiers were slightly wounded in the attack, with one suffering minor burns.

Some 300 Belgian soldiers, serving with NATO's International Security Assistance Force, are in charge of security at the airport in Kabul.

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

General Mohammad Zahir Azimi, a Defense Ministry spokesman, said at least one Afghan solider was killed and two others were wounded in the attack -- the latest in a wave of insurgent-led violence in the country.

Other officials at the scene said one soldier was killed and at least six others, including two civilians, were wounded.

Ambulances took the wounded to a hospital, while NATO and Afghan troops secured the area. Debris from the car was widely scattered.

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

"All the shrapnel came toward us," said the soldier, who also declined to give his name.

Another soldier walked away from the scene holding a pair of bloodied boots and two green berets worn by Afghan National Army members.
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