Suicide bombers attack Afghan governor; 22 die

CHARIKAR, Afghanistan (AP) — A team of six suicide bombers — some wearing explosive vests — stormed a provincial governor's compound in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, killing 22 people in the latest high-profile attack to target prominent Afghan government officials, authorities said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in the Parwan provincial capital of Charikar, some 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Kabul. The province is home to Bagram Air Field, a sprawling base for U.S. and NATO troops.

The coordinated assault is the most recent in a string of spectacular Taliban attacks within an hour's drive of Kabul — a worrying sign of the insurgency's strength near the heart of the country and its determination to target Afghanistan's nascent leadership.

Early this month, the Taliban shot down a helicopter in a province on the western border of the capital, killing 38 American and Afghan troops. In late June, gunmen killed at least 21 people in an attack on the Inter-Continental hotel in Kabul itself.