KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide bomber struck a NATO convoy near the southern Afghan city of Kandahar on Wednesday, the U.S. military said, adding that there were casualties but without providing more information.

The Taliban promptly took responsibility for the attack, and a spokesman for the insurgents said the bombing allegedly killed 15 soldiers — a claim that appeared exaggerated as many similar Taliban claims have been in the past.

Lt. Damien E. Horvath, a military spokesman, could not say how many casualties there were, or provide their nationalities.

The NATO mission, known as Resolute Support, “can confirm that a NATO convoy was attacked in Kandahar. The attack did cause casualties,” he said.

In their claim of responsibility, the Taliban also said the attack destroyed two armored tanks. The insurgents’ spokesman for southern Afghanistan, Qari Yusuf Ahmadi, said fighter Asadullah Kandahari was the “hero” who carried out the attack with a small pick-up truck, packed with explosives.

Kandahar province was the Taliban spiritual heartland and the headquarters of their leadership during the five-year rule of the Taliban, which ended with the U.S. invasion in 2001.

Eyewitness Ghulam Ali, who runs a mechanics shop near the attack site on the outskirts of the city of Kandahar, said the intensity of the blast knocked him out.

When he came to, he saw a military vehicle on fire on the road. He stepped out of his shop but a sudden burst of gunfire drove him back inside, he said. Then, helicopters arrived and he saw soldiers being taken away from the scene but could not determine the extent of their injuries.

Shah Agha Popal, who runs a vehicle parts shop also nearby, said he also saw soldiers being taken away by two helicopters.

“But I couldn’t tell if they were wounded or if they were dead,” he said.

The combined U.S. and NATO troop contingent currently in Afghanistan is about 13,500. The Trump administration is deciding whether to send about 4,000 or more U.S. soldiers to Afghanistan in an attempt to stem Taliban gains.

The attack came as Afghan authorities in western Herat province tightened security ahead of a mass funeral for the victims there of an attack the previous evening that killed 29.

A suicide attacker opened fire inside a mosque packed with worshippers at evening prayers, before detonating his explosives. A second explosion came 10 minutes later.

No one has claimed responsibility for that attack, but it came a day after the Islamic State group warned it would strike Shiites. The Sunni militant group considers Shiite Muslims as apostates.

Herat provincial spokesman Jilani Farhad said that to reduce the possibility of more attacks, a planned Shiite protest against the attack was to be held just before the burial on Wednesday afternoon, rather than at a separate time and location.

Along with the 29 killed, 64 people were wounded, 10 of them critically.</s>A Taliban suicide bomber Wednesday rammed a vehicle filled with explosives into a convoy of foreign forces in Afghanistan's restive southern province of Kandahar, causing casualties, officials said.

"At around noon a car bomb targeted a convoy of foreign forces in the Daman area of Kandahar," provincial police spokesman Zia Durrani told AFP.

NATO confirmed in a statement that a convoy was attacked and did "cause casualties" but did not immediately give further details.

At least one witness reported seeing three bodies pulled from one of vehicles.

Mohammad Azim, a shopkeeper, told AFP: "I saw a foreign forces vehicle on fire after the attack. A while later helicopters landed in the area, they took three bodies out of the vehicle and flew away. There were three armoured vehicles in the convoy."

The Taliban, who have a heavy presence in poppy-growing Kandahar province and have launched repeated attacks there, quickly claimed the attack in a text message sent to AFP.

The assault is the latest blow to NATO forces, who ended their more than a decade-long combat mission in Afghanistan at the end of 2014.

Since then Afghan troops and police, beset by soaring casualties, have struggled to beat back the resurgent Taliban, while facing the growing menace of the Islamic State group.

The Taliban have been ramping up their campaign against beleaguered government forces, underscoring rising insecurity in the war-torn country during the summer fighting season, when the warmer weather tends to spur an increase in militant attacks.

Early last month a US soldier was killed and two others wounded in an attack in Kandahar's neighbouring Helmand province while conducting operations against the Taliban.

Private First Class Hansen Kirkpatrick, 19, of Wasilla, Alaska died following the "indirect fire" assault, which means he was hit by a mortar or some other incoming round.

The attacks come as United States President Donald Trump weighs sending more American troops to Afghanistan nearly 16 years after the US invasion to topple the Taliban regime.

US troops in Afghanistan now number about 8,400, and there are another 5,000 from NATO allies, a far cry from the US presence of more than 100,000 six years ago. They mainly serve as trainers and advisers.

American military commanders in Afghanistan have requested thousands of extra boots on the ground and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is believed to be close to presenting a new US military strategy for Afghanistan to Trump.

Tuesday's attack came a day after suicide bombers throwing grenades killed more than 30 Shiite worshippers at a mosque in Afghanistan's main western city of Herat.

No one claimed responsibility for the assault but IS has regularly attacked Shiites over the past year as it tries to make inroads in Afghanistan following set backs in the Middle East, leaving Afghan forces and it's international allies facing a twin Taliban and IS insurgency.</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two U.S. troops were killed in Afghanistan on Wednesday when their convoy came under attack in Kandahar province, Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said. He did not immediately provide further information.

Reuters reported earlier on Wednesday that a suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden vehicle into the convoy near the Kandahar airport, home to a major military base for international troops helping Afghan security forces in their battle against the Taliban insurgency.</s>U.S. troops assess the damage to an armoured vehicle of NATO-led military coalition after a suicide bomber's attack in Kandahar province, Afghanistan August 2, 2017.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two U.S. troops were killed in Afghanistan on Wednesday when their convoy came under attack in Kandahar province, Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said. He did not immediately provide further information.

Reuters reported earlier on Wednesday that a suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden vehicle into the convoy near the Kandahar airport, home to a major military base for international troops helping Afghan security forces in their battle against the Taliban insurgency.</s>KABUL, Aug 2 (Reuters) - A suicide bomber attacked a convoy of international troops near the airport in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar on Wednesday, a security official said, and the NATO-led military coalition confirmed there were casualties.

"We are working to gather additional information as quickly as possible and will release more details as appropriate," the coalition said in a statement.

A local security official said the attacker drove an explosives-laden vehicle into the convoy. No further details were immediately available.

A Reuters witness at the scene said military helicopters landed at the site at least four times.

The airport in Kandahar is home to a major military base for international troops helping Afghan security forces.

The coalition maintains nearly 13,000 troops from 39 countries as part of a mission to train, advise and assist Afghan troops, who are struggling to contain a resurgent Taliban insurgency.

U.S. military commanders in Afghanistan have asked for several thousand additional troops, but the request is stalled in Washington, where President Donald Trump has expressed scepticism over extending the American commitment. (Reporting by Josh Smith; Editing by Nick Macfie)</s>File photo, US Army soldiers stand with Afghan policemen before a joint patrol of Qalanderkhail, outside of Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan in 2009. (AP)

A Taliban suicide bomber rammed a vehicle filled with explosives into a convoy of foreign forces in Kandahar

A Taliban suicide bomber rammed a vehicle filled with explosives into a convoy of foreign forces in Afghanistan's restive southern province of Kandahar causing casualties Wednesday, officials said.

"At around noon a car bomb targeted a convoy of foreign forces in Daman area of Kandahar," provincial police spokesman Zia Durrani told AFP.

NATO confirmed in a statement that a convoy was attacked and did "cause casualties" but did not immediately give further details.

At least one witness reported seeing three bodies pulled from one of vehicles.

Mohammad Azim, a shopkeeper, told AFP: "I saw a foreign forces vehicle on fire after the attack. A while later helicopters landed in the area, they took three bodies out of the vehicle and flew away. There were three armoured vehicles in the convoy."

The Taliban, who have a heavy presence in poppy-growing Kandahar province and have launched repeated attacks there, quickly claimed the attack by text message to AFP.

The assault is the latest blow to NATO forces, who ended their more than a decade-long combat mission in Afghanistan at the end of 2014.

Since then Afghan troops and police, beset by soaring casualties, have struggled to beat back the resurgent Taliban, while facing the growing menace of the Islamic State group.

The Taliban have been ramping up their campaign against beleaguered government forces, underscoring rising insecurity in the war-torn country during the summer fighting season when the warmer weather tends to spur an increase in militant attacks.

A recent UN report described Kandahar, which lies on the border with Pakistan, as one of the most dangerous places in the country for civilians.</s>KABUL: A suicide bomber attacked a convoy of international troops near the airport in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar on Wednesday, a local security official said.

A spokesman for the NATO-led military coalition could not immediately confirm the report.

The airport in Kandahar is home to a major military base for international troops helping Afghan security forces.</s>The latest on developments in Afghanistan (all times local):

The Pentagon says that two U.S. service members were killed in an attack on a NATO convoy near Kandarhar in southern Afghanistan.

Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, confirmed the deaths. There was no information on the number of troops wounded.

A suicide bomber struck the convoy and the Taliban took responsibility for the attack.

Eyewitness Ghulam Ali, who runs a mechanics shop near the attack site on the outskirts of the city of Kandahar, says he saw a military vehicle on fire on the road. He says helicopters arrived and he saw soldiers being taken away from the scene but could not determine the extent of their injuries.

The U.S. military in Afghanistan has refused to provide any information on potential casualties.

Thousands of angry residents carried the bodies of 31 people who died in a horrific suicide attack on a Shiite Mosque in western Herat. Meanwhile, the Islamic State group on its affiliated Amaq news agency, took responsibility, according to the SITE Intelligence Group.

The provincial governor's spokesman Jilani Farhad said the death toll had climbed to 32 and another 66 worshippers were wounded when a suicide attacker stormed evening prayers at the Jawadia mosque in Herat on Tuesday evening.

He sprayed bullets at private security guards outside of the mosque before entering and firing into the crowd and then detonating his explosives.

There was a second explosion 10 minutes later but it is still not clear where that took place, with some witnesses saying a grenade was thrown into the mosque.

The bodies were brought near the provincial governor's residence in a large freezer truck. Protesters demanded the people behind the brutal assault be arrested.

The Taliban have claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing attack earlier in the day on a NATO convoy in southern Afghanistan.

Qari Yusuf Ahmadi, Taliban spokesman in southern Afghanistan, claimed two armored tanks were destroyed and that 15 foreign soldiers were killed in Wednesday's attack on the outskirts of the city of Kandahar. The insurgents, however, routinely exaggerate their gains and death tolls.

U.S. military spokesman Lt. Damien E. Horvath had earlier confirmed the attack and said that there were casualties, but he could not say how many or provide their nationalities

Ahmadi identified the suicide attacker as Taliban fighter Asadullah Kandahari from southern Kandahar, saying he was a "hero" who carried out the attack with a small pick-up truck, packed with explosives.

Kandahar province was the Taliban spiritual and leadership headquarters during their five-year rule that ended in with the U.S. invasion in 2001.

An Afghan police official in Kandahar says a suicide bomber has hit a convoy of international troops on the edge of the southern city. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Kandahar police spokesman Zia Durrani said he could only confirm the attack, which took place on Wednesday, but had no more details.

U.S. military spokesman Lt. Damien E. Horvath told The Associated Press in Kabul only that they were trying to collect information but so far had no word on whether there were casualties.

The combined U.S. and NATO troop contingent currently in Afghanistan is about 13,500. The Trump administration is deciding whether to send about 4,000 or more U.S. soldiers to Afghanistan in an attempt to stem Taliban gains.

Afghan authorities have tightened security ahead of a mass funeral for the victims of last night's suicide attack at a Shiite mosque that killed 29 people.

A suicide attacker opened fire inside a mosque packed with worshippers at evening prayers, before detonating his explosives. A second explosion came 10 minutes later.

No one has claimed responsibility for the bombing in western Herat province but it came a day after the Islamic State group warned it would attack Shiites.

Provincial spokesman Jilani Farhad says that to reduce the chance for more attacks, a planned Shiite protest to denounce the attack will be held just before the burial on Wednesday afternoon, rather than at a separate time and location.

Along with the 29 killed, 64 people were wounded, 10 of them critically.</s>Two U.S. soldiers were killed in Afghanistan's restive southern province of Kandahar Wednesday when a Taliban suicide bomber rammed a vehicle filled with explosives into a convoy of foreign forces.

"Two U.S. service members were killed in action in Kandahar, Afghanistan, when their convoy came under attack," Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said.

"U.S. Forces Afghanistan will provide additional information as it becomes available," he added.

The assault is the latest blow to NATO forces, who ended their more than a decade-long combat mission in Afghanistan at the end of 2014.

Since then Afghan troops and police, beset by soaring casualties, have struggled to beat back the resurgent Taliban, while facing the growing menace of the Islamic State group.

Afghan officials said the attack, which was quickly claimed by the Taliban in a text message to AFP, happened around noon (0730 GMT) in the Daman area of Kandahar.

NATO confirmed in a statement that a convoy was attacked and did "cause casualties" but did not immediately give further details.

At least one witness reported seeing three bodies pulled from one of the vehicles.

Mohammad Azim, a shopkeeper, told AFP: "I saw a foreign forces vehicle on fire after the attack. A while later helicopters landed in the area, they took three bodies out of the vehicle and flew away. There were three armored vehicles in the convoy."

The Taliban have a heavy presence in poppy-growing Kandahar province and have launched repeated attacks there.

They have been ramping up their campaign against beleaguered government forces, underscoring rising insecurity in the war-torn country during the summer fighting season, when the warmer weather tends to spur an increase in militant attacks.

Early last month a U.S. soldier was killed and two others wounded in an attack in Kandahar's neighboring Helmand province while conducting operations against the Taliban.

Private First Class Hansen Kirkpatrick, 19, of Wasilla, Alaska died following the "indirect fire" assault, which means he was hit by a mortar or some other incoming round.

The attacks come as United States President Donald Trump weighs sending more American troops to Afghanistan nearly 16 years after the U.S. invasion to topple the Taliban regime.

U.S. troops in Afghanistan now number about 8,400, and there are another 5,000 from NATO allies, a far cry from the U.S. presence of more than 100,000 six years ago. They mainly serve as trainers and advisers.

American military commanders in Afghanistan have requested thousands of extra boots on the ground and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is believed to be close to presenting a new U.S. military strategy for Afghanistan to Trump.

Tuesday's attack came a day after suicide bombers throwing grenades killed more than 30 Shiite worshipers at a mosque in Afghanistan's main western city of Herat.

No one claimed responsibility for the assault but IS has regularly attacked Shiites over the past year as it tries to make inroads in Afghanistan following setbacks in the Middle East, leaving Afghan forces and its international allies facing a twin Taliban and IS insurgency.</s>A suicide bomber targeted a convoy of foreign troops in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar on August 2, causing casualties, NATO's mission in Afghanistan says.

The NATO mission, known as Resolute Support, could not say how many casualties there were or provide their nationalities.

Provincial police spokesman Zia Durrani said the convoy was targeted in the Daman area.

An unidentified local security official said the attack took place near Kandahar's airport, which is home to a major military base for international troops backing Afghan security forces.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, which came after at least 33 people were killed by a suicide bomber and gunman who attacked a Shi'ite Muslim mosque in the western city of Herat on August 1.

There are about 13,500 U.S. and NATO troops currently in Afghanistan.

The U.S. administration is deciding whether to send additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan to fight Taliban militants.

Based on reporting by AP, AFP, Reuters, and dpa
A suicide bomber kills two American troops near the Kandahar International Airport in Afghanistan. The Taliban insurgency claims responsibility.