KABUL, Afghanistan  A Taliban suicide bomber wounded eight American soldiers in Kabul on Tuesday afternoon, in what appeared to be an attack on their convoy during the evening rush just outside the gates of a United States military base, Camp Phoenix. At least eight civilians were wounded as well, but there were no confirmed reports of fatalities.
The Taliban immediately said it had carried out the attack, and a spokesman for the group, Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed in a telephone interview that the bomber had succeeded in “killing and wounding” 10 American soldiers and destroying three military vehicles.
The American military, however, said none of its troops had been killed, although eight American service members had minor wounds. “There has been no indication of any fatalities associated with this incident, despite reported claims by the Taliban,” the military said in an e-mailed statement. Agence France-Presse reported that the Kabul police chief, Abdul Rahman, said that three American military interpreters were among the wounded.
The suicide bomber approached the main gate of Camp Phoenix, located on Jalalabad Road, a busy highway in the eastern part of the capital, about 4:45 p.m. and detonated the explosives in his Toyota minivan.
Sayed Abdul Ghafar, head of the criminal investigation division of the Kabul police, said the explosion damaged 11 civilian vehicles in the immediate area and wounded eight civilians, mostly day laborers who at that time would normally be heading out of the base at the end of the workday. All were in stable condition, said an Interior Ministry spokesman, Zemary Bashary.
“The target of the suicide attacker seemed to be foreign forces, but we couldn’t see any American vehicle damaged there, because the road was blocked by American forces,” Mr. Ghafar said. “We don’t know exactly the casualties among the foreign forces.”
The American forces blocked off the area, closing the highway to all traffic. “They won’t even let the Afghan National Police near it,” said an Afghan policeman about 300 yards from the camp gates.
The Taliban had previously attacked Kabul on Jan. 18, when militants detonated at least four suicide bombs and battled against Afghan commandos 50 yards from the gates of the presidential palace, an attack aimed at unnerving the Afghan capital. The attack was repulsed, but not before three members of the security forces and two civilians were killed.
On Monday night, four police officers were killed at a checkpoint outside a government office in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan, officials said.
Dawoud Ahmadi, a provincial spokesman, described the attacker as someone who had been a guest at the police post a few hours earlier, and after leaving, he returned to kill the officers, escaping with their weapons and vehicle. Mr. Ahmadi said authorities believed the attacker had ties to the Taliban. The location was less than 300 yards from the governor’s office.
Taliban militants frequently carry out ambushes on Afghan police posts throughout the country, and particularly in Helmand.
More American and NATO personnel have been killed in Helmand than in any other Afghan province, and some of the additional 30,000 United States troops being sent to the country are expected to be deployed there.
Map of Afghanistan  
A car bomb exploded today at the gates of a U.S. military base, just outside the Afghan capital of Kabul. According to officials, at least twelve people received injuries. The Taliban immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

The incident occurred just outside an US installation dubbed "". This is mainly used by American troops which train Afghan security forces.

Camp Phoenix is often attacked by insurgents, particularly suicide bombers. In mid-November, an attack in Camp Phoenix, injured 25 people, half of them American soldiers.

The Taliban was the group that claimed responsibility for the attack. A spokesperson for the bombers, , claimed in a telephone interview that the bomber had allegedly "killed and wounded" ten American soldiers and demolished three military vehicles.

Asked about that claim, an American military spokeswoman, Air Force Master Sgt. Sabrina D. Foster, said that a statement would be issued soon but that in the meantime she could confirm only eight United States personnel with minor wounds. According to Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman, three of those injured were American interpreters.

Sayed Abdul Ghafar, head of the criminal investigation, Kabul police, said the explosion demolished at least eleven civilian vehicles in the adjoining area. Eight were wounded, most of whom were day laborers who generally would be leaving the base after a day's work. All were reported to be stable by Interior Ministry spokesman, Zemary Bashary.

"The target of the suicide attacker seemed to be foreign forces, but we couldn’t see any American vehicle damaged there because the road was blocked by American forces. We don’t know exactly the casualties among the foreign forces," said Ghafar.

The American troops soon blocked the area, and barred access to the highway. "They won’t even let the Afghan National Police near it," said an Afghan policeman near the place where the attack occurred.

It was the first suicide bombing in Kabul since January 18. In the previous attack, several bombs had been detonated by the attackers, who also fought with Afghan commandos. The situation was brought under control soon; however five people were killed. Earlier today, Afghan intelligence officials provided another statement about this attack; this statement is probably the one with most details.

During a news conference, they showed a video which was about an Afghan man arrested for allegedly assisting in the attack. In the video, the man, named Kamaluddin, claimed that he received his orders from the . The latter is a militant organization based in Pakistan's  tribal area. He calmly clarified that he had housed the seven attackers before the attack and had provided them with several weapons.