Truck bomb wounds 77 foreign troops in Afghanistan

KABUL, (Reuters) – A suicide bomber driving a truck  of firewood attacked a NATO base in central Afghanistan, killing  four civilians and injuring 77 foreign troops a day ahead of the  tenth anniversary of the Sept 11 attacks, NATO and Afghan  officials said today.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for Saturday’s bombing,  which came hours after the insurgent group slammed the United  States for dragging Afghanistan into war following the attacks  in the United States.
An 8-year-old boy was among those killed in the bombing at a  NATO combat outpost in Wardak province, about 50 km (31 miles)  south of the capital Kabul, the governor’s office said in a  statement. Fourteen civilians were also wounded.
None of the injuries to Afghans or foreigners were  life-threatening, NATO-led International Security Assistance  Force said in a separate statement about the attack in Sayed  Abad district of Wardak.
“The majority of injured ISAF personnel will likely return  to duties shortly,” ISAF said in a statement, adding that  although the entrance and perimeter wall of the base had been  damaged, the barriers had now been repaired.
In a statement emailed to media, Taliban spokesman  Zabihullah Mujahid said the truck used in the attack was packed  with 9 tonnes of explosives and more than 100 foreign troops  were killed or wounded.
Doctor Muslim, the governor of Sayed Abad district, said the  blast had also badly damaged the buildings that house the  district government, and his cook was among the dead.
“The blast was so powerful that it knocked me down from my  bike,” said Khan Mohammad, a farmer who was passing by at the  time of the attack.