Many Dead In Afghan Suicide Blast

[Spooky]

A suicide blast in eastern Afghanistan has killed 15 local people and wounded 14 others, the Nato-led force says.

 

The explosion took place in Khogyani district in the province of Nangarhar.

 

There were international troops in the area at the time of the attack but they were not hit, Nato says.

 

Taleban rebels, who have been fighting foreign and Afghan troops in the south and east since they were overthrown in 2001, have claimed responsibility.

 

'Confusion'

 

"Insurgents engaged with small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades," Major Martin O'Donnell, a spokesman for the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), told the French news agency AFP.

 

"It appears that when that happened, people went for cover. They [the attackers] snuck a suicide bomber in the midst of the confusion."

 

Major O'Donnell said Isaf soldiers were in the area, but it is not yet clear if they were the target of the attack.

 

He said no Isaf soldiers were wounded in the attack and that all the casualties were locals. Other reports from local officials said an even higher number of people had been injured.

 

An Isaf statement said a number of Afghan troops had also been killed and wounded.

 

A Taleban spokesman said the movement had carried out the attack.

 

"We claim responsibility for the blast in Khogyani," the man, who identified himself as Qari Sajad, was quoted by AFP as saying.

 

"It was a suicide attack carried out by one of our friends named Abdullah."

 

The BBC's Alastair Leithead in Kabul says there has already been a significant increase in the number of attacks in eastern Afghanistan in the first few months of this year compared to 2007