A suicide bomber has killed at least 20 people, three of them NATO soldiers, in the eastern Afghan city of Khost, according to NATO and local officials.
NATO did not confirm the nationalities of the soldiers, but correspondents say US troops operate in the area.
The Taliban claimed the attack, which also killed 10 civilians, six police and an Afghan interpreter for NATO.
Witnesses said the attacker waited for the soldiers to leave their vehicles before detonating the bomb.
About 60 people were wounded in the attack, some critically.
“A suicide bomber on a motorcycle targeted a joint patrol in Khost city in a crowded area,” the governor’s office said.
Khost, like other parts of eastern Afghanistan, has seen a dramatic rise in violence.
In June, a suicide bomber killed 21 people including three US troops and a local interpreter in the city.
The Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network regularly mount large-scale attacks and suicide bombings in the area.
Over the weekend, a shooting at a checkpoint in eastern Afghanistan took the US military’s death toll in the war past 2,000.
Three US soldiers and contractor were killed in the attack in Wardak province on Saturday, along with three Afghan soldiers.
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Four Syrian military guards were killed after suicide attackers drove vehicle bombs into the military HQ in the heart of Damascus, officials say.
State TV quoted army sources saying that 14 others were hurt in the attacks, contradicting earlier official accounts that said no one had died.
The rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) said it had carried out the attack, but did not mention suicide bombings.
State TV broadcast footage of a minibus slowing before exploding at the HQ.
Suicide attackers drove vehicle bombs into the military HQ in the heart of Damascus
Gunfire reverberated around the city for hours after the bombings, as rebels fought with soldiers at the compound.
Official media said “terrorist attackers” had opened fire inside the perimeter of the compound and in nearby streets, and security forces had confronted them.
State TV said those killed were guards at the compound, and both civilian and military personnel had been wounded.
Witnesses said the blasts ignited a fire that engulfed much of the main building that houses the army’s General Staff.
State media insisted earlier that no senior officers were hurt.
The blasts happened just before 07:00 local time close to one of the city’s busiest areas, Umayyad Square, which is dominated by government buildings.
Roads leading to the area were blocked off as the authorities dealt with the aftermath.
Diplomats living close to the area said the blasts were the biggest they had heard for months.
Buildings more than 1 km (half a mile) away shook violently under the force of the explosions.
The staff command compound represents the heart of the Syrian army.
And the attack comes days after FSA announced it had moved its command from Turkey to Syria in an apparent attempt to bolster its fight against regime forces.
Damascus resident Jean-Pierre Duthion said his entire building shook and windows were shattered.
“We all ran into the corridor, in the place without windows or anything, and we were just waiting until it stopped,” he said.
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