US base attack kills 14 in Afghanistan

A suicide truck bomber attacked a US-run base yesterday, sparking clashes that killed up to 14 people in eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistani border, officials said.
Nato's US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said none of its personnel was killed in the attack in Khost province, a Taliban flashpoint that borders Pakistan.
The Taliban militia, which is leading a 10-year insurgency against foreign troops and the Kabul government, claimed responsibility for the attack.
But the precise details of what happened were murky.
An Afghan security official told AFP that the bomber drove a truck packed with explosives into the outer security checkpost of Forward Operating Base Salerno, which is run by the US military.
According to the official, the victims are Afghan workers involved in a construction project at the base.
A spokesman for the Taliban claimed that a "large number" of foreign soldiers were killed, but the militia is known to exaggerate its claims.
On August 28, 2010 Nato said about two dozen Taliban militants were killed in a failed attempt to storm both US-run bases in a city in eastern Afghanistan, Nato said.
Khost is one of the most volatile parts of the country.
It shares a porous border with Pakistan's tribal belt, which lies outside government control, and where US officials say the Taliban and al-Qaeda have carved out rear bases for operations in Afghanistan.