Afghanistan car bomb kills 3 outside US base

A suicide car bomber hit outside a US base in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing three people and injuring civilians.

According to provincial police chief Abdul Qayoom Baqizoy, the explosion killed a security guard and two truck drivers delivering supplies, reported CNN. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast, which occurred after a minibus stopped at the eastern entrance to Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost province for a security check.

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Military spokesman Major Martyn Crighton said the latest attack struck at about 8 a.m., according to The Telegraph.

"The insurgents detonated a vehicle-borne, improvised explosive device at Forward Operating Base Chapman, but didn't succeed in breaching or puncturing the perimeter," he continued.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in an email that the bomber was targeting Afghan police at the gate and Afghans working for the Americans entering the base, noted the Associated Press. He claimed high casualties were inflicted.

Khost, which borders Pakistan, is known as a stronghold for the Haqqani faction of the Taliban and US bases in the province have come under numerous suicide car bomb attacks, said The Telegraph. Forward Operating Base Salerno was hit by a truck bomb in June before militants on foot tried to storm the base.

The AP also reported that NATO forces and foreign civilians have also been increasingly attacked by rogue Afghan military and police.