At least thirteen American soldiers and four Afgan nationals were killed on Saturday when a Taliban car bomber attacked an armored bus in Kabul, a U.S. military official said, marking the single most deadly attack on American troops in the country’s capital since the war began in 2001. The attack follows recent attacks on the American Embassy in Afghanistan and NATO’s headquarters in the country in September.
The Taliban has shifted its strategy to higher-profile attacks as they are struggling to fend off a surge from American troops, which has diminished the group’s influence in the South of the country and has diminished its ability to wage conventional attacks on NATO officials. U.S. Government officials believe that they latest attacks are an attempt to shake the confidence against the country’s government, which is in the process of taking over security from NATO in many areas of the country.
The deaths from the attack represent the largest lost off American lives since October 6th, when 30 Americans were killed during an attack on a helicopter. The bus, known as a Rhino because of its heavy armor, took place in front of the American University on a route to the Military Training Center in downtown Kabul. The force of the explosion tossed the bus several yards, said local police. A witness said that the bus was lying on its side and that a few civilians were crushed by it. NATIO officials said that two American soldiers were wounded in the attack, and one of the wounded later died of his injuries.
There have been a total of four attacks during the last two days against allied forces and Afgan government officials, including an attack on Saturday which an Afghan soldier turned his weapon on a group of Australian troops he was working with, killing three.
Afgan President Hamid Karzai issued a statement condemning the Kabul attack. “The enemies of Afghanistan carried out a dastardly and cowardly attack that caused sorrow for some Afghan families,” he said. AA statement issued by the NATO confirmed that 13 soldiers had died in the attack, but did not identify those who had died.
