Jalalabad airport bombing kills 9 in Afghanistan

Afghan officials say a suicide car bomber detonated his explosives at the gates of the country's eastern Jalalabad airport in an attack that killed at least nine Afghans, reported Reuters

Officials made no immediate connection between today's violence and the deadly protests seen throughout the country last week in response to the burning of a Quran at a coalition base in unrest that has taken over 30 lives. 

More from GlobalPost: Protests over Quran burning enter 5th day in Afghanistan

Afghanistan's Interior Ministry issued a statement saying the victims of the airport attack seemed to be civilians and Afghan soldiers, said Reuters

Nangarhar provincial police spokesman Hazrad Mohammad told the Associated Press that a "very strong" blast hit the airport facility, which is mostly used by coalition and NATO military aircraft, in the early morning hours today. 

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, said AP

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