Suicide bomb outside Nato base in Afghanistan kills 1

Kandahar: A suicide car bomber has struck outside the main Nato base in southern Afghanistan, killing a civilian and wounding eight other people, as US Marines press a major anti-Taliban offensive in a neighboring province.

Border police commander Gen. Saifullah Hakim said the bomber blew himself up near the gates of Kandahar Airfield early Monday. Those wounded included four civilians and four Afghan soldiers.

The attack came as thousands of US Marines in neighboring Helmand province mounted a major offensive against the Taliban. Over the weekend, insurgent attacks killed three British soldiers in the province, a militant stronghold and hub of the vast Afghan drugs trade.

It wasn't clear if the British casualties had been involved in the Marine operation.