Blast outside US Afghan base kills 1, wounds 3

KABUL, Apr 6 (Reuters) A blast in a market outside the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan killed an Afghan civilian and wounded three others today. The cause of the explosion was not immediately known, an Afghan official said.

The military air base at Bagram, north of Kabul, is the headquarters for more than 19,000 US troops battling insurgents and hunting for their leaders in Afghanistan's southern and eastern regions.

Among the three people wounded in the blast near the heavily guarded base was a teenage girl, said district administrative chief Kabir Ahmad.

''We're investigating to determine if it was a mine, a bomb or maybe a rocket hit,'' Ahmad said.

No foreign soldiers were hurt, he said.

Taliban insurgents, in an effort to expel foreign troops and overthrow the Western-backed government, have unleashed a wave of violence in recent weeks, including attacks on military bases, ambushes, and roadside and suicide bombings.

A US military spokesman inside the base said he had no information about the explosion.

REUTERS SHB ND1236