自杀爆炸手在阿富汗首都附近袭击外国人

A suicide bomber has attacked a mini-bus carrying foreigners near the Afghan capital, killing at least 12 people.

Police say nine foreign workers, an Afghan driver and at least two other Afghans were killed in Tuesday's blast near the Kabul airport. The bomber targeted the bus on the main highway to the airport.

A Kabul police official said the foreigners worked for a private company based at the airport.

Afghan insurgent group Hezb-e-Islami claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was carried out by a female bomber in response to an anti-Islam film. The crude American-made video mocks the Prophet Muhammad and has sparked worldwide protests, including in Afghanistan. Hundreds of protesters clashed with security forces in Kabul during Monday's demonstration.

NATO confirmed to VOA Tuesday that it is scaling back joint operations with Afghan security forces amid a series of recent insider attacks and the release of the anti-Islam video.