Afghan Attack Targets VP Cheney

A suicide bomber killed as many as two dozen bystanders outside of the US base in Kabul, Afghanistan today, and the Taliban claimed that Vice President Cheney was the target. He was uninjured.

Reporters with Cheney could see the smoke from the bomber, and Cheney reported hearing "a loud boom."

The explosion happened near the first of at least three gated U.S. checkpoints...

The bomber apparently ran around an Afghan police checkpoint outside the base and into a crowd primarily consisting of Afghan workers, where he detonated his explosives, said Col. Tom Collins, a NATO force spokesman. Police at the checkpoint rarely stop vehicles, however, and it is often unmanned.

The base houses 5,100 U.S. troops and 4,000 other coalition forces and contractors. High security areas within the base are blocked by their own checkpoints.

Also, see these articles from Amy Zalman: Taliban Terrorism Marks 5th Anniversary of U.S. Bombing of Afghanistan, The History behind the U.S. War in Afghanistan.