A suicide attack Saturday against NATO-led Italian troops in Afghanistan's capital killed six civilians and an Italian soldier, DPA quoted Afghan and Italian officials as confirming. Twelve people were injured in the attack, among them three Italian soldiers. Italian Defence Minister Arturo Parisi expressed his solidarity and condolences to the family of the non-commissioned officer who was killed, Daniele Paladini, in a statement issued by the Defence Ministry in Rome. The deaths and injuries came when a bomber who had strapped explosives around his body detonated himself near the troops' convoy in Kabul's western Paghman district. "A bomber who had strapped explosives around his body detonated himself near a convoy of Italian troops," Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary had earlier told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. The attack took place in Paghman district, in the western outskirts of the city, when a NATO-led convoy was passing by, Ghulom Rasoul, a police officer at the blast site, said. He said that the forces were inspecting a newly-built bridge in the area, which is under construction with aid money from the Italian government, when the attack took place. A NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) spokesman in Kabul confirmed their forces had been "involved in a blast" but could not confirm any casualties.
