A suicide attack on a government office guarded by Afghan and NATO troops in eastern Afghanistan left two alliance soldiers dead and four more wounded, a U.S. military spokesman said Tuesday.
The bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into the gates of the building in the Yaqoubi district of Khost province on Monday, causing a guard post to collapse and trapping soldiers inside, officials said.
Sgt. 1st Class Brian Lamar, a U.S. military spokesman, said two NATO soldiers were killed and four others wounded in the attack. Lamar would not disclose the soldiers' nationalities. The majority of international forces in Khost province are American.
The explosion also killed two Afghan civilians and wounded three Afghan policemen, said provincial police chief Gen. Mohammad Ayub.
The attack happened at an Afghan government building inside a compound that also houses a unit of U.S. soldiers.
Militants regularly use suicide and roadside attacks in their fight against Afghan and foreign troops in the country.
Last year was the deadliest in Afghanistan since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. More than 6,500 people _ mostly militants _ were killed in insurgency-related violence, according to an Associated Press count.
