Kabul going the way of Baghdad

[Jim]

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)