Foreign soldiers and civilians have suffered heavy losses in Afghanistan in the last twenty four hours.
Four soldiers and one journalist -- all from Canada -- were killed in a roadside bomb attack in Kandahar province, a hotbed for the insurgency.
The attack brought Canada's military deaths in Afghanistan to 138.
The journalist killed was Michelle Lang, 34, who was working for the Canwest News Service. She was on her first assignment in Afghanistan.
Earlier, eight U.S. civilians were killed when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest at a military base in Khost province near the Afghan border with Pakistan.
CNN cited a senior U.S. official as saying the eight were CIA agents.
The CIA has not yet commented on or confirmed the deaths.
Some people were wounded in the explosion, defence officials said, but no U.S. or NATO troops were among them.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on the Khost base.
The base in Khost was working on reconstruction projects, a key part of U.S. President Barack Obama's strategy to stabilize the country.
compiled from agency reports