Suicide Bomber Wounds 45 Afghan Soldiers

At least 45 Afghan soldiers were wounded Wednesday after a suicide bomber slammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a joint Afghan-U.S. base, Reuters reported. A spokeswoman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said insurgents fired at the base after the explosion, but there were no NATO casualties. According to Reuters, the Taliban took responsibility for the attack, saying they also dispatched a group of fighters in suicide vests, who managed to enter the base. The attack took place in eastern Afghanistan's Paktia province, which has been beset with mounting violence over the past two years. Violence has been escalating across Afghanistan, and the heavy casualty rates amongst Afghan security forces have raised concerns about their ability to tackle insurgents as the foreign troop pull-out deadline edges closer.

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