Suicide bomber kills about 12 people near Afghan airport

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KABUL, Afghanistan -- A female suicide bomber struck near Kabul’s international airport early Tuesday, killing about 12 people, nine of them believed to be foreigners, Afghan police said.

The blast, on a busy stretch of road lined with wedding halls, wrecked a minivan that was carrying international and Afghan contract workers, said the police chief, Gen. Mohammad Ayoub Salangi. In addition to those killed, eight people were injured, he said.

The insurgent group Hezb-i-Islami claimed to have carried out the attack, and said on its website that the targets were “intelligence” operatives. Most such strikes in and around Kabul are blamed on the Taliban or an offshoot, the Haqqani network.

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--Laura King