A suicide car bomber blew himself up near a convoy of U.S. troops on the outskirts of Kabul Tuesday, leaving up to seven civilians and three soldiers wounded, officials said. The Taliban claimed responsibility.
In the aftermath of the attack, U.S. troops opened fire on police arriving at the scene, killing one policeman, officials and a witness said.
The bomber targeted the convoy outside Camp Phoenix, a U.S. base on Jalalabad road — an area frequently targeted by suicide bomb attacks.
A statement from the U.S.-led coalition said three Afghan civilians and three coalition service members were wounded.
Lt. Cmdr. Brenda Steele, a spokeswoman for NATO forces, said one foreign soldier suffered minor injuries in the attack and seven civilians were wounded. She would not disclose the nationality of the wounded soldier.
The differing figures could not immediately be reconciled.
U.S. forces allegedly fire on police
Ali Shah Paktiawal, head of police criminal investigations in Kabul, said that when he and his men arrived on the scene, someone opened fire on them, and one of his guards was killed.
“There was a misunderstanding between the forces present at the scene of the suicide attack this morning and new forces who were trying to get to the scene,” Interior Ministry spokesman Zemerai Bashary said.
Ahmad Basir, who owns a shop about 200 yards from the blast site, said he saw U.S. soldiers open fire on the police as they arrived.
“When they were about to reach the blast site, about 100 yards away, suddenly the Americans opened fire on the police convoy,” Basir said. “Everyone on the street ran away to escape the shooting. I ran into my shop, too. I was afraid I’d get hit.”
A U.S.-led coalition spokesman said he didn’t have any details about the alleged shooting and would have to investigate before commenting.
Taliban claim responsibility
Meanwhile, a purported Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujaheed, said the militant group was behind the attack. Mujaheed’s claim could not immediately be verified.
Separately in southern Kandahar province, the Taliban attacked a police checkpoint Monday night in Maiwand district, and the ensuing two-hour gun battle left three Taliban dead, including a senior commander, said provincial police chief Syed Agha Saqib. He said the police suffered no casualties.
Also Monday in northern Kunduz province, a suicide bomb attack killed one employee of the intelligence service, and wounded eight civilians, a policeman and three other intelligence personnel, the Interior Ministry said Tuesday in a statement.