British soldier dies in Afghan car bomb

A British soldier died and four others were injured in a twin attack on British and German bases near the Afghan capital Kabul today. At least five other foreigners were wounded, police and peacekeepers said.

The attacks came during a memorial ceremony for a Canadian soldier killed in a suicide attack in Kabul yesterday. An Afghan civilian was also killed in that attack.

Canadian Major General Andrew Leslie, deputy commander of the security force, said: “One of our British comrades lost his life and there have been several injuries.”

He said another explosive device was detonated outside the main German base.

A spokesman for the NATO-led security force, Lt Col Joerg Langer, said the British soldier died after a car bomb hit a British patrol at about 11am local time (6.30am Irish time). A statement from the international troops also said other soldiers had been wounded.

There were no reports of civilian casualties in the blast, which damaged a British patrol vehicle, the statement said.

Just east of Kabul near the German peacekeepers’ base, a suicide bomber in a taxi detonated an explosion that injured five foreigners, said Qasim Mangal, a local police chief.

International troops and Afghan authorities closed off the scene of the attack, on the Jalalabad Road, about a mile from the German base.