Taliban Suicide Car Bomber Kills 4 In Kabul, Afghanistan

Four people were killed in an attack Tuesday when a suicide car bomb exploded near the wall of a camp that housed foreign contractors in the Afghan capital of Kabul. The blast was targeted at a consulting firm working for the U.S.-led coalition, the Wall Street Journal reported.

There were no casualties among the foreign contractors or military personnel present at the camp, according to the report. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack and the group reportedly said in a text message that several suicide bombers had stormed a building, which it described as a “foreign intelligence office.”

However, Najib Danish, a deputy spokesman for the Afghan ministry of interior, told Agence France-Presse: "It was a bomb in a small truck at the gate of a foreign base. Initial reports show two guards killed, several wounded," adding: "The guards were Afghan. After the blast, two other attackers tried to enter the base and were killed by guards."

Kabul has witnessed several attacks over the past few weeks as U.S.-led coalition troops prepare to leave the country. Most of the troops will leave by the end of 2014, after more than a dozen years battling militancy in the strife-torn country. About 1,800 American soldiers, involved in counterterrorism, will stay back to help the Afghan government tackle domestic security issues, according to Reuters.

The latest attack comes after a suicide bombing attempt on a prominent women’s activist and member of parliament on Sunday morning. The attack killed three civilians and injured 22 others but the politician escaped with minor injuries. Last week, three NATO personnel were killed and 13 people were injured in a bomb blast in Kabul. Two weeks back, a Taliban bomber attacked the police headquarters in Kabul, killing one person and wounding six more.

The Taliban, which has stepped up its attacks since elections earlier this year, has labeled the newly elected Afghan government, led by President Ashraf Ghani, as a U.S.-sponsored sham. The group, which espouses a severe form of Islam, has been trying to regain control of the nation since U.S.-led forces deposed it in 2001.