By Yu Zhixiao    

    

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney (C) and Afghan President Hamid Karzai inspect an honour guard in the presidential palace in Kabul Feb. 27, 2007. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

KABUL, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- A suicide bombing blasted outside a U.S. military base in Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing at least 18 people, as U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney stayed unhurt inside the base, officials said.

    Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Zamarai Bashari said that the explosion killed 18 people including three foreign soldiers at around 10:00 a.m. local time (0530 GMT) at a main gate of the Bagram U.S. military base, some 50 km north of Kabul.

    However, a police officer at the site told Xinhua that the blast killed 19 persons including 3 U.S. soldiers, one Afghan soldier, two Pakistani drivers and 13 local labors.

    The blast occurred when some U.S. soldiers were checking a truck at the gate, and explosives apparently had been inside the truck's container, the police officer said, adding that at least 12 people were injured in the powerful explosion.

    A Xinhua reporter at the site saw U.S. soldiers condoned off the explosion site, and U.S. fighter planes were hovering overhead.Some relatives of the victims were waiting outside the base, yelling and shouting angrily and agonizingly.

    Richard Simenson, a press officer at the base, said Cheney was unhurt inside the base when the explosion went off.

    A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousif Ahmadi, said the Taliban had carried out the suicide bombing and Cheney was the target.

    He said the Taliban knew Cheney was staying in the base, and the attacker was trying to reach Cheney.

    Cheney arrived at the base on Monday afternoon for a visit to Afghanistan, and to hold talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday.

    They are expected to talk about how to fight the possible Taliban spring offensive and other issues.

    The Taliban said about 10,000 Taliban fighters including 2,000 suicide bombers will launch a bloody spring offensive against foreign troops in the country as snow melts and it becomes warmer.

    However, NATO troops and the U.S.-led coalition forces here said they will defeat any Taliban attacks and give a heavy blow to the militants.

    Cheney arrived in Afghanistan after his visit to Pakistan on Monday morning, during which he held talks with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

    About 27,000 U.S. troops are now deployed in Afghanistan to hunt down militants and facilitate reconstruction.

Related:Cheney makes surprise visit to Afghanistan

    KABUL, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Monday, during which he was expected to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai on security issues, local media reports said.