Afghan officials: Kabul attack wounds 2 soldiers

KABUL, Afghanistan — A suicide car bomber blew himself up as a NATO convoy passed by his vehicle on the outskirts of the Afghan capital on Friday, wounding two troops, officials said.

The Afghan Defense Ministry said an Afghan soldier and a NATO service member were wounded in the blast. NATO confirmed the attack took place but did not say whether there were any casualties. The driver of the car was killed in the blast, the Defense Ministry said.

"According to initial reports the vehicle-borne IED exploded when an International Security Assistance Force convoy passed the vehicle," NATO said in a statement.

The Hizb-i-Islami group that operates under the leadership of warlord and former Afghan Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar claimed responsibility for the attack.

"The bombing has been carried out by one of our men," Harun Zarghun, a spokesman for Hizb-i-Islami, told The AP. "The attack is part of our campaign to oust American forces from Afghanistan."

The attack slightly damaged a Humvee but destroyed the vehicle driven used by the suicide bomber, AP Television News footage showed.

Although suicide bomb attacks are becoming commonplace in southern and eastern parts of Afghanistan, where NATO is fighting the Taliban, increased security has made them less frequent in the capital.

In eastern Afghanistan, a NATO service member was killed in an insurgent attack, the coalition said. Neither the nationality of the service member nor any other details were released. So far this year, 626 U.S. and international troops have died in Afghanistan, according to a count by The Associated Press.

NATO said that in the southern part of the country, at least 15 insurgents were killed by in a fierce round of fighting in Helmand province and 15 other militants were detained during three overnight operations targeting Taliban leaders across Afghanistan.

The heavy fighting erupted Thursday in Sangin district after a member of a joint Afghan and coalition patrol was struck by a homemade bomb, the coalition said. Insurgents continued to attack as a coalition helicopter evacuated casualties. The coalition force called in air support and the insurgents were killed by missiles, a 30mm cannon and artillery fire.

Also in Helmand, a joint force captured several suspected insurgents in Musa Qala district Thursday while going after a senior Taliban leader known for trafficking in weapons and explosives.