Afghanistan Suicide Blast Kills 5 U.S. Troops

Updated at 8:20 a.m. Eastern.

Six NATO service members, including five Americans, and at least 12 civilians were killed Tuesday in a suicide car bombing in the Afghan capital.

A U.S. military spokesman in Afghanistan said five Americans were among the six NATO troops killed by the bomber in the Afghan capital today.

Afghan officials said earlier the bombing also killed at least 12 Afghan civilians and injured 47.

The bomber struck during rush hour on a major road running through Kabul. Nearly 20 vehicles were damaged, including a bus on which most of the civilian casualties were riding.

A Taliban commander in Kabul city, Qari Talah, claimed responsibility for the attack in a phone call to CBS News' Sami Yousafzai.

A bomber "hit a convoy of the ISAF forces this morning at local time 8:20 a.m. and killed a number of foreigners," Talah claimed to CBS News.

An Associated Press reporter on the scene saw the wreckage of a public bus and four sport utility vehicles. The SUVs were painted white and grey but no markings identifying them more specifically were discernable.

CBSNews.com Special Report: Afghanistan

Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary said the blast was near the Afghan Ministry of Energy and Water.

A spate of attacks inside Kabul this year has led police to tighten security and officials have recently publicized arrests of would-be suicide bombers as proof that they are having success. The Tuesday bombing is a reminder that the city's defenses are still permeable by determined attackers.

The U.S.-led force in Afghanistan is bracing to push hard into the Taliban's birthplace in Kandahar Province in June. The campaign for Kandahar, already under way in districts outside the city, is expected to be among the bloodiest of the nearly nine-year-old war.

It may well be the most critical battle of the war, reports CBS News correspondent David Martin.

More than 20,000 U.S. and allied troops are gearing up for the make-or-break operation to retake the city of Kandahar from the Taliban. According to Stephen Biddle, a civilian adviser to Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the outcome of the entire war is riding on it.

"If we fail to secure this population, it's hard to see how the campaign could succeed," Biddle told CBS.

"Our summer offensive has started and a major part of the offensive will bring more death to the enemies inside cities," warned the Taliban commander Talah in his phone call to CBS. "If U.S. forces go after Taliban in Kandahar, we will go after each convoy of U.S., NATO and ISAF forces in Kabul."

"Soon, each convoy will be escorted by bombers all over Afghanistan," Talah added.

[jgg000101]

the number of American soldiers who have died in afghanistan has now reached 1,000. It took 7 years to reach 500. The war in afghanistan now costs more than the war in iraq. And not one troop has returned from iraq and we are now backpeddling away from the announced withdrawal date. Where are the anti-war protesters???

[sunhammer]

Are you an idiot or something? Military fatalities in Iraq were around 4,500 soldiers. From a high of 170,000 soldiers the current troop levels are around 94,000 in Iraq. Please take your leftist BS elsewhere.

[superdem1]

News Flash ! Democracy was not invented in 1776 in North America ! It was invented in ancient Greece, all the nations of the middle East have been familiar with democracy, and none of them adopted it. Why do we think we are bringing them something new and wonderful ?

[starleo146]

Where are you Karzi with your protests of Afghan civilians being killed? This time it is the Taliban killing civilians not a peep out of you not one. There will be payback for our American military deaths and injuries. It is funny how we have to have you Karzi maybe when we are not looking we can find providence out of this. What about the Americans killed they are there to help your people, and your friends keep doing this,and you say nothing, what is a leader of people certainly not you or your brother. I truly believe you are the problem

[smoknmirrors]

It was enough to make a body ashamed of the human race.
- Mark Twain

[inketolstoy]

Morning peace loving progressive hippys. Still screaming for us to surrender since the enemy won't give up, huh. Hmmm, neither would Hitler. I guess we should have pulled out and let Germany and Japan bring peace to the world. Better to live on your knees than die on your feet, huh?

[larrryshrine]

Good morning from a peace loving progressive hippy - and proud to be a patriotic American. How are you this morning:)?

[daffy64]

Morning back, from another peace loving progressive hippie.

Jesus is Lord.

Peace.

[timdgrim]

Got to agree with most of the comments here so far. We are wasting our American lives, money and time fighting these religious fanatics. They will never give up and they will never stop fighting. If U. S. corporations were not making money off of this war, we wouldn't be there. Enough, get out of that sh*thole!

[rocketjl]

Did President Karzi file a complaint with the Taliban about the civilian deaths, did local officials, did the news folks???????

Kind of a double standard.

[larrryshrine]

It's this simple: If America had pulled its troops out, these five soldiers, and many more, wouldn't be dead today.

[sabestu]

War is big business for the filthy rich as history has shown the military industrial complex. Can one imagine what could be done for our country with all the public's dime being spent in Afghanistan and Iraq. Obama and his seven star generals do not really care how many of our soldiers shed their blood for "their" cause and the same applies to the likes of cheney pork chop. As InKabul-AFG states in his comment that his headquarters is in Kabul to help...this damn fool is there because of his greed to get a share of the public's dime, plain and simple.

[zloh]

Not seeing any diatribe against Barack like I saw against George. Why?