6 NATO Troops Killed in Afghanistan Suicide Bombing

An explosives-packed minibus blew up at the entrance of a joint NATO-Afghan base in southern Afghanistan today, killing six NATO troops and two Afghan soldiers as they prepared to head out on patrol. NATO has claimed improvements in security after months of raids, patrols and strikes on insurgents in Kandahar province, but today's blast—the deadliest attack on coalition troops this month—shows the area is still far from safe.

Afghan officials said today's suicide attack took place in Kandahar's Zhari district, where Mullah Mohammad Omar organized the Taliban in the early 1990s. Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi claimed responsibility for the blast, saying the insurgent group was retaliating for attacks on its fighters in the area in recent months. NATO said that the six service members had been killed in an insurgent attack and did not disclose their nationality. Most coalition forces in the south are American. (More NATO stories.)