By The Associated Press

Published: Thursday, December 13, 2012, 8:28 p.m.
Updated: Thursday, December 13, 2012

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — A Taliban suicide car bomber killed one American soldier and two Afghan civilians on Thursday near a U.S. military base shortly after Defense Secretary Leon Panetta left the facility, officials said.

The attacker targeted a moving vehicle near the access gate to the military side of Kandahar's airport, according to Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi.

It was unclear whether the blast had anything to do with Panetta's unannounced visit to Kandahar Air Field earlier in the day.

Panetta said one American soldier was killed and three others wounded. Azimi said two Afghan civilians were killed and 14 wounded.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi claimed responsibility for the attack in an email, saying a suicide car bomber had targeted foreign military vehicles that were stopped near the gate of Kandahar Air Field.

Panetta was at the air field for about three hours, receiving a briefing from Army Maj. Gen. Robert Abrams, the region's top coalition commander.

Panetta spoke to about 350 troops and took questions from them before flying back to Kabul.

Panetta's press secretary George Little confirmed the suicide car bombing occurred, adding that coalition officials were assessing the situation. “I have no information at this time that this incident was associated with the visit of the secretary of defense. The attack occurred after the secretary returned to Kabul,” he said.

A U.S. official said early indications were that the attacker did not breach the base's perimeter. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter was in the early stages of investigation.

Earlier, Ahmad Javed Faisal, spokesman for the governor of Kandahar province, said the attack occurred after dusk and was carried out by a bomber on a motorcycle. There often are conflicting reports in the immediate aftermath of attacks.

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