Eight Americans, five Canadians die in Afghan attacks

A suicide bomber at a base in Afghanistan’s volatile east killed eight American civilians, US officials said, the worst loss of life for Americans in the country since October.

Four Canadian soldiers and a journalist were killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan’s west, Nato said.

The suicide attacker detonated explosives at Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost province near the Afghan border with Pakistan, killing eight American civilians and wounding others, US officials in Washington said.

“We mourn the loss of life in this attack, and are withholding further details pending notification of next of kin,” US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said.

An attacker wearing a suicide vest caused the explosion, according to a senior US official in Washington.

Another senior US official in Washington said there were conflicting reports on the number of casualties, but that others were injured in the attack.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because not all details about the incident had been confirmed.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing that killed the Americans.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said a Taliban bomber wearing a military uniform and a suicide vest entered the base in Khost and blew himself up inside the gym.

A senior State Department official said all of the victims were civilians. However, that could include military contractors and US intelligence officials.

A US congressional official however said CIA employees are believed to be among the dead.

A former senior CIA officer who was stationed at the base said a combination of agency officers and contractors operated out of the remote outpost with the military and other agencies.

The CIA has not yet commented or confirmed the deaths.

The congressional official said it was not clear how many of the victims were assigned to the CIA.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the matter with the media.

Nato said only that the base is used by provincial reconstruction teams, which consist of both soldiers and civilians, and other personnel.

In Kabul, a spokesman for the international coalition force in Kabul said no US or Nato troops were killed in the afternoon explosion.

The attack was the bloodiest day for Americans since eight soldiers were killed in an insurgent attack on a base in eastern Afghanistan on October 7.

In the south, Nato said that the four Canadian troops and a reporter embedded with their unit died when their armoured vehicle hit a bomb while on an afternoon patrol south of Kandahar city, the biggest loss of life for Canadian forces in Afghanistan this year.

The Canadian Press identified the journalist as Michelle Lang, a 34-year-old health reporter with the Calgary Herald, who was on her first assignment to Afghanistan.

The military has not disclosed the names of the troops because relatives had not all been notified.

“We are all very saddened to hear this tragic news,” Alberta Health and Wellness Minister Ron Liepert said in a statement.

“Michelle covered health issues with professionalism, accuracy and thoroughness. She was tenacious in her quest to inform Albertans, and for her diligence she was very well respected.”

It was the second lethal strike against the Canadian force in a week. One Canadian soldier and an Afghan soldier were killed December 23 during a foot patrol in Panjwayi district of Kandahar province.

The latest casualties bring to 32 the number of Canadian forces killed in Afghanistan this year; in all, 138 have died in the war.