Taliban claims revenge for Koran-burning as suicide bomber attacks NATO base

A suicide car bomber has killed nine Afghans, most of them civilians, in an attack on a military base in eastern Afghanistan. The Taliban claimed the attack was revenge for the burning of copies of the Qur’an by foreign troops…

In a further possible incident of sabotage by Afghans working with foreign forces, the Taliban claimed a cook on a base in eastern Afghanistan had poisoned the food of coalition troops. The insurgent group, which often exaggerates claims of enemy loses, said five people had died and dozens were injured.

Master Sergeant Nicholas Conner, the spokesman for the coalition’s eastern regional command, said traces of bleach had been found on food in the dining area of a base near the Pakistan border and it had been shut for investigation, but that there were no deaths or injuries.