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An Afghan man wounded at a suicide attack lies on a bed as a U.S. medic, rear left, treats another wounded Afghan at U.S. Camp Salerno after a suicide attack in Khost province.

AP photo

KABUL — A suicide car bomber killed seven people and wounded 21 others Wednesday outside a U.S. military base in the same part of eastern Afghanistan where militants stormed government buildings a day earlier, police said.
The militant attacks in Khost, near the tumultuous border with Pakistan, come as the U.S. makes military leadership changes in Afghanistan that demonstrate a clear break from Bush-era appointees.
In Wednesday’s attack, a vehicle drove up to the first gate outside Camp Salerno on the edge of Khost and exploded, said police spokesman Wazir Pacha. U.S. forces confirmed the attack, saying four Afghan security guards were killed and 12 wounded.
There were no casualties among international troops, said Lt. Cmdr. Christine Sidenstricker, a U.S. military spokeswoman.
On Tuesday, 11 Taliban suicide bombers struck government buildings in Khost, sparking gunbattles with U.S. and Afghan forces that killed 20 people and wounded three Americans.
Military analysts say such coordinated attacks are a result of training by Pakistani militants and al-Qaida fighters. In the last year, teams of Taliban militants have launched multipronged assaults on government centers in Kabul, Kandahar and Helmand’s capital.
The stepped up attacks came an Afghan lawmaker said 95 children were among 140 people killed in a U.S.-Taliban clash earlier this month. The U.S. military disputed those numbers, saying condolence payments to the bereaved offered an incentive to exaggerate the death toll in the May 4-5 clash in western Farah province.