Suicide bomb targets NATO convoy outside Kabul airport

KABUL - Agence France-Presse

A Taliban suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle near a NATO military convoy entering Kabul airport on Wednesday, killing himself but causing no other casualties.
 
The blast was heard across the Afghan capital, which has seen a recent drop in insurgent attacks after several high-profile strikes earlier this year.
 
"We can confirm a suicide car bombing that targeted an ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) convoy coming to Kabul International Airport," a spokeswoman with the NATO force said.
 
"The vehicle detonated too early and didn't reach the convoy. There were no ISAF casualties." Interior ministry spokesman Sidiq Sediqqi said there were no Afghan casualties in the attack on the airport, which houses a major NATO military base as well as operating civilian flights to cities including Dubai, New Delhi and Istanbul.
 
Flights were delayed only briefly after the bomb exploded.
 
The Taliban, who regularly exaggerate casualty numbers, claimed responsiblity via their main Twitter account, saying ten soldiers had been killed or injured and two German vehicles destroyed.
 
Afghan and NATO troops quickly sealed off the scene around the mangled remains of the attacker's car seen outside an airport entrance used by workers.
 
A series of suicide bomb and gun attacks earlier this year targeted foreign compounds, the Supreme Court, the airport and the presidential palace in the capital.
 
In October, a similar car bomb attack killed two civilians outside a compound housing foreign workers near the airport.
 
NATO forces are withdrawing from Afghanistan after more than a decade of fighting, but negotiations have stalled on a security accord that would allow some US and NATO troops to stay after 2014.
 
Karzai initially endorsed the security pact, but has since refused to sign and issued fresh demands.