A suicide car bomber hit a convoy of international soldiers in Kabul on Thursday, killing three Afghans caught in the blast, police said.
Meanwhile, a clash in the western province of Farah killed more than two dozen Taliban fighters, a police officer there said.
The attack in Kabul targeted two armored SUVs, causing minor damage to the vehicles. None of the soldiers inside the vehicles was wounded or killed, said Lt. Col. David Johnson, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition. He did not immediately know the nationalities of the troops.
U.S. troops from a base in Kabul cordoned off the area shortly after the attack.
The blast killed three Afghans and wounded four, said Mohammad Aslam, a police officer at the scene. Small shops line the road, and pedestrians frequently walk alongside the busy route.
An Afghan father wailed and beat himself after the bombing, saying a child of his was killed in the blast. Children’s shoes lay in the road after the bombing.
The attack took place on a road leading to several military bases that is frequently targeted by bombers.
Increase in suicide attacks
Militants have increased their use of suicide attacks the last two years. They typically target Afghan and international police and soldiers, but Afghan civilians are often killed and wounded in the attacks.
A joint operation by Afghan and NATO forces in Farah, meanwhile, killed 30 Taliban fighters, said Nabi Popal, the deputy provincial police chief. One policeman and two Afghan soldiers also were killed.
Afghan fighters surrounded the militants in the Bala Baluk district of Farah, Popal said, before NATO forces called in airstrikes. He said intelligence reports indicated that 30 Taliban had gathered in the area, but he did not say how he knew 30 had been killed and Popal’s information could not immediately be verified.