Suicide bomber strikes near Kabul airport, 1 dead

KABUL, Aug 31 (Reuters) A suicide bomber blew up a car packed with explosives near an entrance to the Afghan capital's airport today, killing one Afghan soldier and wounding around a dozen people, police and witnesses said.

The blast occurred at the NATO controlled side of the combined civil and military airport, they said. An Afghan airport official said civilian flights to and from the airport continued as normal.

Taliban guerrillas who are fighting Western troops and the Afghan government claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest in a spree over the past 19 months -- the bloodiest period since the Taliban were driven from power in 2001.

''The bomber was in a car and tried to get into the airport through an entrance under the control of ISAF,'' said senior police official Ali Shah Paktiawal, referring to NATO's International Security Assistance Force.

''I know that one Afghan has been killed and there are wounded people too.'' The bomber crashed his car into am armoured NATO vehicle, and the explosives detonated a while later, said an Afghan soldier who witnessed the attack. The blast killed one Afghan soldier nearby, he said.

An ISAF spokesman said four alliance soldiers in the vehicle were wounded in the blast, while five Afghan troops and at least two civilians were also wounded.

The last suicide attack in Kabul occurred a fortnight ago and was aimed at a NATO convoy. Three alliance soldiers were wounded in that attack.

Copying Iraqi insurgents' tactics, the Taliban largely rely on suicide attacks and roadside bombs as part of their campaign against the Afghan government and foreign troops.

US-led coalition forces have clashed with Taliban fighters near daily in the south, where the insurgents are most active, and say they have killed hundreds in recent months.

The coalition said yesterday it killed two-dozen Taliban fighters in two separate clashes in the southern provinces of Helmand and Uruzgan, which in turn comes after they said 100 insurgents were killed earlier in the week.

REUTERS GL RK1400