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Global

Suicide bomber kills 7 Afghans outside NATO base


    KABUL (Reuters) - A suicide bomb attack outside a NATO base killed seven civilians in southeastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, a local official said, a day after a brazen strike by the Taliban in the same town.

    Violence has surged to its worst level in Afghanistan since U.S.-backed Afghan forces overthrew the Taliban in 2001, despite increasing numbers of foreign troops

    Another 21 civilians were wounded in Wednesday's attack by a suicide bomber in a car packed with explosives in Khost town.

    An official from the province of the same name said all the victims were labourers working at the NATO base on the outskirts of Khost township.

    "U.S. forces ... have encircled the area. The toll may rise," provincial official Wazir Padshah told Reuters by telephone.

    There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties among NATO-led troops. On Tuesday, a group of Taliban suicide bombers attacked government buildings in Khost town.

    Nine Afghans, including members of the security forces, and 11 insurgents were killed in Tuesday's attacks, during which gunbattles lasting several hours were fought and a government building was seized by the militants.

    (Reporting by Kamal Sadat, Writing by Sayed Salahuddin; Editing by Paul Tait)