Islamic State attack on NATO convoy kills 8 Afghans, wounds 3 US soldiers

A suicide bomber targeted a military convoy during the morning rush hour in Afghanistan’s capital city, Kabul. The attack took place near the US embassy.

A suicide car bomber struck a US military convoy in Kabul on Wednesday, killing at least eight Afghan civilians and wounding three US service members in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

Afghan municipality workers clear the site of a suicide attack that targeted a foreign forces convoy near the US embassy in Kabul on May 3, 2017. (AFP Photo)

Najib Danish, deputy spokesman for the Interior Ministry, confirmed the toll and said another 25 Afghan civilians were wounded in the morning rush-hour attack near the U.S. Embassy, which destroyed several civilian vehicles

US Navy Captain Bill Salvin, a military spokesman, confirmed that three soldiers were wounded in the attack.

The Islamic State group claimed the attack in a statement carried by its Aamaq media arm. An affiliate of the extremist group has gathered strength in recent years, and is now at war with both the US-backed government and the much larger Taliban insurgency.

Afghan forces have struggled to combat both groups since the US and NATO officially concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014, switching to a support and counterterrorism role. The US has more than 8,000 troops in the country.