At least three foreign soldiers were killed and five wounded in a suicide car bomb attack near the United States embassy in Kabul on Tuesday, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said. The bombing is the deadliest attack on foreign soldiers in Afghanistan in months.

ISAF has not yet released the nationalities of those killed in the attack, but the bombing occurred next to a compound that houses many Americans. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack.

At least 13 civilians were wounded in the attack as well, which took place few hundred meters from the US embassy, according to the Afghanistan police. The blast damaged nearly 20 vehicles parked nearby.

The bombing occurs amid a disputed presidential election that has remained unresolved since June, with opposing sides refusing to recognize the outcome despite western efforts to broker a compromise.

Insurgents have been taking advantage of the political instability to carry out attacks throughout the country.

One US soldier was killed Monday when an Afghan security forces member allegedly threw a grenade at troops conducting a training session, the latest of so-called “green-on-blue” attacks. And overnight, two suicide bombers ignited 26 fuel tankers in an attack near the border of Pakistan in eastern Afghanistan.

bw/mz (Reuters, AFP, DPA)