Afghan Suicide Bomber Waited 'Long Time' to Kill Troops

A suicide bomber in Kabul waited "a long time" for NATO troops to approach his explosives-packed car, says a Taliban spokesman; the eventual blast killed three coalition soldiers this morning, the Washington Post reports. Five others were wounded, the New York Times reports. The bomber targeted a two-vehicle convoy of armored vehicles near the US Embassy and a US military base, and the explosion was audible miles away. "It was a very powerful blast and happened just as the vehicles sped out of the embassy,” a witness says.

According to NATO, the bomber actually drove into the convoy, the BBC reports. Some 16 civilians were injured in the attack, Afghan officials say. The three deaths marked the largest loss of life among coalition troops since July 8, the Post notes, and came fewer than 24 hours after what seems to have been an insider attack: A coalition soldier was killed by a man in an Afghan army uniform. After a peak in 2012, such insider attacks have been occurring less frequently, the Post reports. (More NATO stories.)