Story Highlights • Massive suicide car bomb in Kabul kills 18, including two U.S. soldiers
• Taliban claim responsibility for attack close to U.S. Embassy
• Bombing is second attack on U.S.-led coalition forces in Kabul in a week
• Increase in violence comes days before September 11 anniversary
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KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- The Taliban have claimed responsibility for a massive suicide car bombing that killed at least 18 people -- including two U.S. soldiers -- near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.
"A coalition convoy was the target of a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device this morning near the U.S. Embassy here," according to Master Sgt. Chris Miller. The convoy was comprised of three armored Humvees.
Journalist Tom Coghlan said the Humvee that bore the brunt of the explosion had its turret blown 30 yards from the site the the attack. The blast spread debris and body parts across the Massoud roundabout, about 50 yards from the embassy. (Watch flames, smoke pour from the wreckage of the car used as a deadly bomb -- 1:10)
Video from the scene showed a charred, severed foot on the ground as military medics attended to a limp body dressed in military fatigues a short distance away.
CNN's Anderson Cooper, at the scene of the attack, said: "This is a real sign of a resurgence of the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan. It is also a sign that the Taliban are increasingly adopting al-Qaeda-style tactics." (Watch Anderson Cooper reach the bloody blast site -- 0:50)
Sixteen Afghans were killed and 29 wounded in the attack, Ali Shah Paktiawal, criminal director of Kabul police, told The Associated Press. The bomber also died.
Two American soldiers in the vehicle were killed and two wounded, U.S. military spokeswoman Lt. Tamara Lawrence told AP.
The bombing was the second of the week in the Afghan capital directed at forces of the U.S.-led coalition. On Monday, four civilians and a British soldier were killed when a car bomb exploded near a military convoy in the Afghan capital.
The Taliban -- an Islamic militant group that once controlled Afghanistan and harbored the al Qaeda terror network -- have been making a resurgence in many parts of the country.
In southern Afghanistan, NATO have been fighting the resurgent Taliban for months, with both militants and troops sustaining many casualties.
There are about 19,000 NATO troops in Afghanistan, and 6,000 are in the south. The major NATO deployments in the south are from Britain, Canada, the United States, and the Netherlands.
In addition, the United States has another 20,000 troops under American command.
Gen. James Jones, NATO's supreme allied commander, said on Thursday that the troops have encountered "more resistance than we originally thought."
He said forces need more equipment, such as attack helicopters and large cargo planes, to battle the insurgency. He also wants NATO nations to send more troops.
Presently, in Kandahar province in the south, Canadian forces are leading a fight against Taliban militants in Operation Medusa, an offensive targeting the Taliban that began last Saturday.
Dozens of insurgents and five Canadian soldiers have been killed during the operation.
At least 35 British and Canadian troops have died in the past five weeks, and a town in the south has fallen under Taliban control.
"The tenacity of the resistance is a bit of a surprise," he said, adding that NATO knew that expanded operations -- such as the ongoing Operation Medusa -- "were going to stir up a hornet's nest."
"The fighting is extraordinarily intense. The intensity and ferocity of the fighting is far greater than in Iraq on a daily basis," Brig. Ed Butler, the commander of British Forces in Afghanistan, told ITV news on Friday. He echoed Jones' call for more troops.
In western Afghanistan, four Italian soldiers were wounded Friday in a roadside bomb blast while on patrol, the Italian Defense Ministry said.
The ministry said an improvised explosive device detonated around 9 a.m. near Farah while an Italian military vehicle was on patrol.
One of the soldiers is in a serious, but not life-threatening, condition.
Peter Bergen, Jamie McIntyre and Tom Coghlan contributed to this report
Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the massive suicide bomb which killed 16 citizens, and two US soldiers near the Kabulian US Embassy. Master Sergeant Chris Miller commented, "A coalition convoy was the target of a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device this morning near the U.S. Embassy here."

The convoy was comprised of three armored Humvees. Sixteen Afghans were wounded in the attack, and several were killed. 

Gen. James Jones, NATO's supreme allied commander, said on Thursday that the troops have encountered "more resistance than we originally thought."

The fighting is extraordinarily intense. The intensity and ferocity of the fighting is far greater than in Iraq on a daily basis," Brig. Ed Butler, the commander of British Forces in Afghanistan, told ITV news on Friday. He echoed Jones' call for more troops. 

In western Afghanistan, four Italian soldiers were wounded Friday in a roadside bomb blast while on patrol, the Italian Defense Ministry said.

The ministry said an improvised explosive device detonated around 9 a.m. near Farah while an Italian military vehicle was on patrol.