http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/12/world/asia/12afghan.html

September 11, 2011

Blast Hits NATO Outpost in Afghanistan

By RAY RIVERA and SANGAR RAHIMI

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A cargo truck packed with explosives struck a NATO outpost south of the capital late Saturday, killing at least 5 people and wounding dozens more, including 77 members of coalition troops, NATO and Afghan officials said Sunday.

Among the dead was an 8-year-old girl who officials said was hit by flying shrapnel more than half a mile away.

The injury toll was one of the worst for foreign forces in a single episode in the decade-long war, and the attack came in the same district of Wardak Province where in August insurgents shot down an American Chinook helicopter, killing all 30 Americans and 8 Afghans on board.

No coalition troops died in Saturday's explosion, and none of their injuries were considered life threatening, NATO said in a statement, adding that many were expected to return to their duties shortly.

NATO did not release the nationalities of the wounded soldiers, but the outpost is run by Americans, who provide most of the soldiers in that region. The bomb struck in the district of Saydabad near the main highway that links Kabul to the southern city of Kandahar.

The bombing was another indication of the eroding security situation in Wardak and other provinces close to the capital, even as NATO officials say violence in the country over all has begun to decline.

NATO officials said in the statement that 2 civilians were killed and 25 were wounded. District officials, however, said a police officer and four civilians were killed, including the girl and three laborers who were working at the base. The girl was in her village of Belandi Khel about a half-mile from the blast when she was hit, said the spokesman for the provincial governor's office, Shahidullah Shahid.

He said the bomber drove a "jingle truck" filled with explosives. The medium-size cargo trucks are a mainstay of commerce in the country and named for the bright assortment of paintings and noisemaking bobbles that adorn them. The size of the truck and the amount of explosives used was a departure for the Taliban, who typically use smaller vehicles.

Among the wounded were two police officers, an Afghan intelligence officer and a merchant in a nearby bazaar, Mr. Shahid said. Two doctors from a nearby clinic were also injured.

NATO officials said the blast damaged a perimeter wall and a maintenance building. But protective barriers around the camp absorbed most of the explosion. The injury toll most likely represented more than half of the troops at the outpost.

Such outposts are typically run by a single company, though a NATO spokesman, citing operational security, declined to discuss troop numbers.

The outpost "remains operational, and protective barriers have been repaired after the failed attempt by insurgents to degrade operational capabilities and cause loss of life to coalition troops," NATO said in the statement.