KABUL – A suicide bomb attack killed six civilians Wednesday outside a U.S. military base in the same part of eastern Afghanistan where militants tried to storm government buildings the day before, police said.
A vehicle drove up to a gate outside Camp Salerno, on the edge of Khost city, in the early morning and exploded, Khost province police spokesman Wazir Pacha said. Six civilians were killed and 16 others wounded, he said.
U.S. forces confirmed the attack, saying four Afghan security guards were killed in the blast and 12 wounded.
“We don’t know how many local nationals were wounded or killed,” said Lt. Cmdr. Christine Sidenstricker, a U.S. military spokeswoman. There were no casualties among international troops, she said.
The attack comes a day after 11 Taliban suicide bombers struck government buildings in Khost city, sparking running gunbattles with U.S. and Afghan forces that killed 20 people and wounded three Americans.