almotamar.net agencies - Dick Cheney escaped the attack unhurt and flew to Kabul, where he inspected an honour guard with President Karzai
A suicide bomber killed at least two foreign soldiers, one an American, outside the main US military base in Afghanistan today during a visit by Dick Cheney, the US Vice-President.
Mr Cheney was not hurt in the attack but the explosion sent up a plum of smoke visible to reporters inside the base who were travelling with him and American military officials declared a red alert inside the compound.
The blast happened near the first security gate outside the base at Bagram, where there is a small market. One stall holder called the explosion "huge" and said many of the casualties were taken inside the base for treatment.
Mr Cheney had spent the night at Bagram but left the base about 90 minutes after the 10am blast to travel to Kabul for a planned meeting with President Karzai.
Initial reports of the number of dead were conflicting - local police said ten people had died, while early media reports said that 20 had been killed. But a statement from Nato put the toll at four, including the bomber.
Among the dead was a contractor for the US government, whose nationality is not yet known. The nationality of the second soldier, a member of the US-led coalition force, has not yet been released.
The Taleban have claimed responsibility for the attack and said that Mr Cheney was their intended target. However, American forces said the explosion was not a threat to the Vice-President, who was about a mile away at the time.
Mr Cheney was due to meet Mr Karzai yesterday, but heavy snow forced a delay, so it is likely that the Taleban knew the Vice-President was still at the base, his point of arrival from Islamabad. The attack could be intended as a signal of the violence to come during the anticipated spring offensive.
After the explosion Mr Cheney continued with his schedule, meeting Mr Karzai at the presidential palace, forcing a closure of parts of central Kabul.
Bagram, a huge base about 70km north of Kabul, is accessed by a single road lined with two US Army checkpoints. The explosion, which is the third suicide attack in 24 hours, happened at the one where Afghans who work inside the high-security base line up to be granted admission.
The attack comes 24 hours after Des Browne, the British Defence Secretary, announced that 1,400 more troops would be sent to Afghanistan with heavy armour, rockets and additional ground-attack aircraft. The reinforcements are to support the British force already in Helmand province, in the south. Britain has deployed about 5,600 service personnel to Afghanistan, with around 4,300 in the south and 1,300 in Kabul.
Mr Cheney's visit comes as Washington warned that al-Qaeda and its Taleban allies were regrouping in Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan. The Taleban, boosted with money from opium crops and poppy farmers who joined their ranks after losing their livelihoods to the eradication campaign, have vowed a major offensive in spring.
During talks with the Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, Mr Cheney urged for more to be done to prevent the Taleban from using the country as a safe haven to train fighters and suicide bombers. Intelligence by the CIA was reported to have shown several locations where new al-Qaeda camps have been set up in the province of Waziristan on the Pakistani border.
During his tour, Mr Cheney visited Japan and Australia where he sought to reassure the White House's close allies of the strength of America's commitment to the region's security.
Speaking in Sydney, Mr Cheney expressed concern over China’s growing military might after its recent testing of anti-satellite weapons, a claim which China today rejected, insisting that it is a force global stability.