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Suicide bomb was aimed at Cheney, claim Taliban
By Nicholas Cecil, Evening Standard Last updated at 14:22pm on 27.02.07
Target: Dick Cheney
The Taliban insisted this afternoon that a bomb which rocked a US base in Afghanistan was meant for vice-president Dick Cheney.
Mr Cheney, 66, had just finished breakfast at the living quarters inside the compound at Bagram when a suicide bomber detonated a device outside, killing himself and several others.
The Afghan is believed to have evaded the first security checkpoint on the outer gates and was challenged before he got to the inner gate.
There were reports that four US soldiers were among 14 dead but there was confusion over the precise number of people killed.
Nato said its early reports indicated three died, a US soldier, a South Korean coalition soldier and a US government contractor. But provincial governor Abdul Jabar Taqwa said 20 people were dead.
Mr Cheney heard a "loud boom". He said he was "fine", adding that he believes the blast was aimed at undermining the Afghan government. The attack will be a huge embarrassment for security officials and raises the possibility of a leak. Mr Cheney was on an unannounced visit. The Bagram air base, 40 miles from Kabul, is one of the most heavily guarded places in Afghanistan. A US spokesman said the explosion was a "direct attack" on the base.
Mr Cheney left 90 minutes after the attack for talks in the capital with president Hamid Karzai. Mr Cheney was met by armed guards with guns drawn on the tarmac at Kabul airport and was rushed by convoy to the presidential palace.
Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett was flying from Pakistan to Afghanistan this afternoon for talks with Mr Karzai 24 hours after Britain announced it is sending a further 1,400 troops to the country to boost the battle against the Taliban who are planning a spring offensive.
Qari Yousef Ahmadi, claiming to speak for the Taliban, said Mr Cheney was the target of the bomb attack. He said: "We knew that Dick Cheney would be staying inside the base. The attacker was trying to reach Cheney."
A trader in a market outside the base described the explosion as "huge", saying it shook market stalls.
He said many of those killed were labourers waiting to get work.
The base's operations commander, Lieutenant-Colonel James Bonner, insisted that security had worked properly in stopping the bomber getting inside the centre.
He said: "Our security measures were in place and the killer never had access to the base. When he realised he would not be able to get on to the base, he attacked the local population."
Reader views (5)
When will there be a "coalition of the willing" to rid our country of the Bush, Cheney, Rice, Gonzalez regime?
- Dick Tator, Washington, USA
A sad situation all around. The families of the labourers killed may well have lost their sole means of support. The soldiers killed were part of a coalition that freed women from total oppression. There was no reason for these people to die.
- Kathleen H, Connecticut, USA
The breakdown of security and the leaking of the travel plans and location of high prestige targets is absolutely symptomatic of the final days of a regime, as is senior politicians seeking a bolt hole overseas. Very senior officials start to lose confidence and prepare to change sides by using information to ingratiate themselves with the eventual victors.
- Peter Haldane, London
You reap what you sow.
- Simon, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
One terrorist trying to blow another up, oh how cruel can this world be at times?
- Daniel, London
