A suicide bomb on the outskirts of the Afghan capital Kabul today killed nine civilians, four of them children, and an Italian soldier, the Italian army said.
The hardline Islamist Taliban have killed at least 200 civilians in more than 140 suicide attacks so far this year in their campaign to oust the pro-Western Afghan government and eject the more than 50,000 foreign troops from the country.
The bomber targeted Italian troops at a bridge construction project in the Paghman district, just outside the city.
The Afghan government "strongly condemns this brutal attack which is against humanity, Islam and the stability of Afghanistan", the Afghan Interior Ministry said in a statement.
Four Italian soldiers were wounded in the attack and one of them died on his way to hospital, the Italian army said.
The Italians were working on a bridge and many people had gathered around to watch, a senior police official said.
Italian soldiers cordoned off the scene.