Seven Killed In Afghanistan Attack on NATO

A bomb blast in Afghanistan where an ongoing US-led occupation has devastated the cities and rural areas of this central Asian state. Obama says that he is winding down the war yet people are dying everyday., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

7 killed in Afghan attack on NATO

Carmen Gentile, Special for USA TODAY 12:42 a.m. EDT July 2, 2013

Militants blew up a suicide car bomb at the gate to a NATO compound

Taliban took responsibility for attack

Several people were wounded

KABUL -- Afghan militants armed with explosives and firearms attacked a NATO compound just outside of Kabul killing seven people and wounding several others, according to a high-ranking police official.

The seven killed include four NATO soldiers from Nepal, one Afghan guard and two Afghan truck drivers waiting to get inside the compound when the attack began.

Kabul provincial police chief Mohammad Ayuob Salangi says the attack was carried out by four men, one of which rammed an explosive-laden truck into the compound's gate. The others were wearing suicide vest, Deputy Chief of Police Dawoud Amin told USA TODAY. All four were killed in the explosion and subsequent gunbattle.

The attack occurred along a main highway linking Kabul to the country's eastern provinces and is lined with compounds for private companies that supply NATO forces.

The Taliban said they were responsible for the attack.

Shopkeeper Bismillah Khan recounting the attack says he was just about to open his store when there was a large explosion about 100 yards away, sending him and other scurrying for safety. "It was a huge blast that knocked all of us to the ground," says Khan.

Bombings and other violence are on the rise in the Afghan capital in recent weeks, targeting both local government offices and foreign interests. The uptick in violence comes amid U.S. efforts to hold peace talks with the Taliban in Qatar, home of the militant group's recently opened office.

Earlier this week , Afghan military officials reported that attacks on policemen left nearly 300 security forces dead over the last month, one of the highest counts since the beginning of the war.

Local and national police are increasingly targeted by the Taliban and other militant groups as they take over security operations throughout the country.

At the same time, deaths tolls for U.S. and NATO forces are down as they scale back combat operations.