Massive suicide car bomb in Kabul kills 18, including two U.S. soldiers

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.