A suicide bomber who killed up to 20 people outside the main coalition base in Afghanistan yesterday was said to have been trying to blow up Dick Cheney, the US Vice-President.

Mr Cheney was staying at the Bagram airbase, near Kabul, but was some way from the blast. He said that he heard a “loud boom”, adding: “The Secret Service came in and told me there had been an attack on the main gate, apparently a suicide bomber.”

Asked about Taleban claims that he was the target, he said: “I think they clearly try to find ways to question the authority of the central government. Striking at Bagram with a suicide bomber, I suppose, is one way to do that. But it shouldn’t affect our behaviour at all.”

The explosion happened in a crowded area outside the airbase, where Mr Cheney had been stranded overnight by a snowstorm after arriving on Monday. He later flew by helicopter to Kabul to meet President Karzai.

Police at the scene told The Times that at least 20 were killed and a further 20 injured, some seriously. Nato’s International Security Assistance Force said that a US soldier, an American contractor, a South Korean soldier and the bomber were killed.

Bahman Akbari, who runs a company supplying workers to the base, said: “I was just ten metres away when the bomber blew himself up. Eleven of my guys and three westerners, all my friends, were killed. I saw a huge ball of fire and there were bodies everywhere — we all rushed to help.

“They were all young guys between 14 and 18 years old, I will never be able to forget this day. I was in New York during September 11 — it is like these guys are following me around,” he said, close to tears.

The dead South Korean soldier was named as Sergeant Yoon Jang-ho, 27, one of 200 South Korean medics and engineers at Bagram. The base, 30 miles from Kabul, houses 9,100 troops and contractors.

Qari Yousef Ahmadi, a Taleban spokesman, said: “We knew that Dick Cheney would be staying inside the base. The attacker was trying to reach Cheney.”

Publicity that might have alerted terrorists to the vice-president’s flight plans came when it emerged that Air Force Two had encountered an electrical failure. This prompted John Howard, Australia’s Prime Minister, to disclose that Mr Cheney’s plane had been diverted to Singapore, encouraging speculation that he was not bound for Washington.

In contrast to Mr Cheney’s usual behind-the-scenes style, his tour has been marked by controversy. In Pakistan he ruffled President Musharraf’s feathers by making clear his dissatisfaction with efforts to combat al-Qaeda, even hinting that Congress might withdraw aid unless more progress was made. President Musharraf hit back by saying: “Pakistan does not accept dictation from any side or any source.”

Mr Cheney’s planned low-key arrival in Pakistan and Afghanistan was prefaced, perhaps even compromised, by a blaze of publicity as he visited Guam, Japan and Australia.

In one interview, he accused Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives, of validating al-Qae-da’s strategy. This prompted a telephone complaint from Ms Pelosi to President Bush. Next, he repudiated Tony Blair’s suggestion that a military attack on Iran would be wrong. Mr Cheney repeatedly stated that “we haven’t taken any options off the table”, including possible military action.

He also had time to rake a swipe at China, saying that its recent antisatellite weapons test and its military build-up were “not consistent” with its stated goal of a peaceful rise as a global power.

Times Recommends

• It’s only Brits who don’t appreciate me, says Blair
• Party’s over for Greek graspers
• White House tightens security for Xmas marathon