Nine US troops were also wounded. Ten militants, wearing vests packed with explosives, were killed, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.

The fighting came the day after a suicide bomber attacked an ISAF military convoy in Kabul, killing 12 Afghan civilians and six foreign troops. The attacks may mark the start of a Taliban spring offensive against high-profile foreign targets.

The assault on Bagram air base, about an hour's drive north of Kabul and holding mainly US troops, began in the pre-dawn hours when Taliban insurgents attacked near the base's gates. It continued for hours with sporadic rocket and small arms fire.

An ISAF spokesman would not disclose the name or profession of the American contractor who was killed until the man's family had been notified.

One rocket landed inside the base, causing minor damage, but no insurgents managed to get inside Bagram, ISAF said.

Helicopter gunships hovered above the base.

"We're always prepared to deal with attacks on our base, the response this morning was immediate," said Lieutenant Colonel Clarence Counts, a spokesman for the Bagram base.

Reuters

(China Daily 05/20/2010 page12)