Attack on US convoy kills 8 Afghans, wounds 3 U.S. soldiers

Suicide car bomber strikes near the U.S. Embassy -- the rush-hour attack destroying several civilian vehicles.

Security forces inspect the site of a suicide attack in Kabul on May 3 , 2017. Najib Danish, deputy spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said on Wednesday that the target of the bomber was a convoy of foreign forces.

A suicide car bomber struck a U.S. military convoy in the Afghan capital on Wednesday, killing at least eight Afghan civilians and wounding three U.S. service members, officials said.

Najib Danish, deputy spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said another 25 Afghan civilians were wounded in the morning rush-hour attack near the U.S. Embassy, which destroyed several civilian vehicles. Mr. Danish said the target of the bomber was a convoy of foreign forces.

U.S. Navy Cpt. Bill Salvin, a military spokesman, confirmed that three soldiers were wounded in the attack.

Taliban footprints?

No one immediately claimed the attack, but the Taliban announced the start of their annual spring offensive on Friday, and have repeatedly targeted Afghan and U.S. forces in the past.

Afghan forces have struggled to contain the Taliban since the U.S. and NATO officially concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014, switching to a support and counter-terrorism role. The U.S. has more than 8,000 troops in the country.