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Suicide Bomber Kills 8 Americans in Afghanistan

   VOA News 30 December 2009
   Afghanistan Map

   Afghanistan Map

   U.S.  officials  in Kabul says a suicide bomber in eastern Afghanistan
   has killed eight Americans.
   Officials have released few details about the blast in Khost province,
   including  whether  the  victims  were American soldiers or civilians.
   Khost  province  borders  Pakistan's  North  Waziristan tribal region,
   where Taliban militants and their allies launch cross-border attacks.
   Meanwhile,  a  spokesman  for international troops in Afghanistan says
   NATO so far has no direct evidence to back up Afghan government claims
   that  foreign  troops  killed  10  civilians in eastern Afghanistan on
   Sunday.
   Colonel  Wayne Shanks told reporters Wednesday that NATO has requested
   an immediate joint investigation into the incident.
   Afghan  government investigators earlier concluded that foreign troops
   killed  10  civilians  -  including  school children - during Sunday's
   operation in Kunar province.
   An  advisor to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Asadullah Wafa, says his
   team  spoke  with  villagers  and officials in Kunar province's Narang
   district  and  determined  the  dead  included  eight  teenagers.  The
   victims  were  buried  before  the  Afghan  team  arrived.   Wafa said
   officials   are   now  trying  to  find  the  informant  who  provided
   information that led to the attack.
   Hundreds  of  university  students took to the streets in Kabul and in
   the eastern city of Jalalabad Wednesday to protest the killings.
   Many  expressed  anger  toward  the  United  States and U.S. President
   Barack  Obama,  some chanting "Death to Obama." Some held large photos
   of children they said were killed by foreign troops.
   The United Nations released figures Tuesday indicating civilian deaths
   in  Afghanistan  rose  more  than 10 percent in the first 10 months of
   this  year compared to the same period in 2008.  The top U.S. and NATO
   commander   in  Afghanistan,  General  Stanley  McChrystal,  has  made
   protecting civilians a top priority for foreign troops in Afghanistan.
   On  Wednesday,  Bulgaria  said  it  plans to send another 30 troops to
   Afghanistan,  boosting  the  total number of Bulgarian troops there to
   300.   The  Bulgarian troops are providing security for the inner zone
   of the Kandahar airport.
   Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

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