Afghanistan | 06.07.2008
Eye Witness: Afghan Suicide Bomber Misses German Target
A suicide bomber who targeted German troops based in Afghanistan's northern Kunduz province injured three schoolgirls, an official said on Sunday.
Abdul Rahman Aaqtash, a senior provincial police official, told German news agency DPA that "a suicide bomber targeted a German Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Dubandi area of Chahardara district, injuring only three schoolgirls."
None of the troops was injured and the injuries to the schoolgirls were not life-threatening, Aaqtash said.
"I was at the scene and shook the hands of the four soldiers," he said.
A German military spokesman denied that German soldiers were involved.
"German soldiers were neither the target nor the victims of an attack," the spokesman told DPA.
Clashes with militants
Meanwhile, the Afghan defense ministry said it caused more than 20 militant casualties during a clash in the Baila and Nanglam area in eastern Kunar province.
"The militants were traveling in two vehicles when they were attacked by Afghan troops supported by NATO airstrikes," it said.
The US military claimed to have killed an unspecified number of insurgents on Sunday in eastern Nangarhar province.
"Intelligence revealed a large group of militants operating in Deh Bala District," the US statement said. "Coalition forces identified the militants in a mountainous region and used precision airstrikes to kill them."
