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Bomber targets military convoy in Afghanistan

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  • NEW: Suicide bomber driving a van kills at least one civilian, wounds several others
  • NEW: Attack in Nangarhar province, near Pakistan border, targeted coalition forces
  • NEW: U.S. service member killed when helicopter crashes in eastern Afghanistan
  • At least three dead in Taliban suicide bomb blast outside German embassy in Kabul
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KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A suicide bomber driving a van packed with explosives detonated in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, killing at least one civilian and wounding several others, including three Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers, government spokesman Ahmadzia Abdulzai told CNN.

Afghan policemen work at the site of a suicide attack in front of the German embassy in Kabul.

Afghan policemen work at the site of a suicide attack in front of the German embassy in Kabul.

The blast occurred at 12 p.m. (2:30 a.m. ET) in the Chapar Har district of Nangarhar province, near the Pakistan border, and targeted coalition and ANA forces, Abdulzai said. One coalition vehicle was destroyed.

The Taliban took responsibility for the assault. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the suicide attacker targeted a U.S. military convoy, killing seven Americans and three Afghan police officers.

An International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) spokesman said there were no military fatalities.

Meanwhile, a U.S. service member was killed when a helicopter crashed in eastern Afghanistan, the military announced Saturday.

Small arms fire "was present" when the CH-47 helicopter, carrying seven people, hit the ground. Whether the shooting caused the helicopter to go down is under investigation, the military said.

The military did not say when the death happened and did not release the dead person's name or branch of the armed forces.

The death was the 9th U.S. casualty this month and the 15th coalition death. It was the 634th U.S. death and 1,049th coalition death since Operation Enduring Freedom began in 2001, according to a CNN tally.

In another suicide attack on Saturday, at least three people, including a U.S. service member, were killed after a car bomb exploded near the German Embassy and a military base in Kabul, Afghan and U.S. officials said.

One of the dead was a child, said Gen. Mohammed Zaher Azimi of the Afghan Defense Ministry. He said another 23 people were wounded, four of them seriously.

Six U.S. forces were wounded, three of them seriously, along with one U.S. civilian, said Lt. Col. Chris Kubik, a spokesman for the U.S. military. He provided no details on the U.S. fatality.

Several embassy staff were also wounded and the explosion caused damage to the embassy compound, the German Foreign Ministry said. Video Watch a report on the bombing »

The Taliban claimed responsibility. Spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told CNN the bomber was Shumse Rahman from Kabul province and that he was targeting two German Embassy vehicles.

The blast occurred in the Afghan capital around 9:30 a.m. (midnight ET), an Interior Ministry official said. Afghan security officials had been in the area stopping and checking every car before the bomb went off, CNN's Atia Abawi reported.

A fuel tanker was burned in the explosion, the force of which could be felt blocks away.

Also on Saturday, a suicide bomber driving a van packed with explosives detonated in eastern Afghanistan, killing at least one civilian and wounding several others, including three Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers, government spokesman Ahmadzia Abdulzai told CNN.

The blast occurred at 12 p.m. (2:30 a.m. ET) in the Chapar Har district of Nangarhar province, near the Pakistan border, and targeted coalition and ANA forces, Abdulzai said. One coalition vehicle was destroyed.

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The Taliban took responsibility for the assault. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the suicide attacker targeted a U.S. military convoy, killing seven Americans and three Afghan police officers.

An International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) spokesman said there were no military fatalities.

CNN's Atia Abawi and Fred Pleitgen in Berlin, Germany, contributed to this report.

All About AfghanistanAfghanistan WarKabulThe Taliban

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