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Kabul

3 US soldiers, 18 Afghans die in suicide attack

A victim was treated at a hospital after a suicide bomb blast in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday. A bomber on a motorbike attacked US and Afghan troops, killing 21 people.REUTERS

KABUL — A suicide bomber attacked US and Afghan forces at a checkpoint Wednesday in eastern Afghanistan, killing 21 people, including three US soldiers, officials said.

It was the third day in a row the Americans were targeted by insurgents. Persistent violence complicates efforts to train Afghans to take over their own security in preparation for the withdrawal of most combat troops at the end of 2014.

Afghan officials initially said a car bomber struck a military convoy, but NATO spokesman Major Martyn Crighton said the attacker hit Afghan and coalition forces at a checkpoint in the city of Khost.

‘‘There was a convoy in the vicinity that responded to the attack,’’ Crighton said.

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Baryalai Wakman, a spokesman for the Khost provincial government, said it appeared likely the suicide bomber was on foot.

US Defense Department officials confirmed the three American deaths and said a suicide vest is suspected to have been used. They spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the attack were sketchy and the officials weren’t authorized to talk about it publicly.

The Afghan presidential palace said 17 Afghans also were killed when they were caught up in the massive blast. Two of the Afghan dead were police officers and the rest civilians. Another 32 people were wounded — all civilians, authorities said.

In nearby Logar Province, meanwhile, three women and four children were killed by a roadside bomb, officials said.

A tractor pulling a wagon crammed with people struck the explosives on a road outside the provincial capital earlier Wednesday, said provincial spokesman Din Mohammad Darwesh.

The bombings followed two attacks Tuesday in the south in which militants stormed a NATO military base and attacked a police checkpoint. US troops were wounded in the attack on the NATO base, officials said. On Monday, three gunmen dressed in Afghan police uniforms killed one American service member and wounded nine others in Kandahar’s Zhari district.

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Fighting usually picks up in Afghanistan during the summer months, when it becomes easier for insurgents to travel into and around the mountainous country. This summer is particularly important for the international effort in Afghanistan as it is the last fighting season before a significant US military drawdown.

The commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, Marine General John Allen, has to withdraw 23,000 American troops by the end of September, leaving about 68,000 US military personnel in the country.

Once the 23,000 US troops depart, Allen is expected to review how the fighting season is going and then will begin to put together an analysis for President Obama on how troop withdrawals will proceed next year.