A suicide car bomb exploded outside the NATO military headquarters in the Afghan capital of Kabul killing seven people.
The Taliban militia claimed responsibility for the blast at the main gate of the heavily fortified headquarters of the International Security Assistance Force.
The victims were confirmed to be Afghans.
It is the first such attack outside the Kabul base, which collects soldiers from several countries and is the headquarters of the US commander of more than 100,000 international troops in Afghanistan.
The vehicle carrying the bomb appeared to have got through two lightly manned checkpoints before attempting to drive the wrong way through a major reinforced security post, where it was stopped.
Afghanistan's Defence Ministry said nearly 100 were wounded in the blast.
The US embassy is close to site, while the embassies of Spain and Italy are also nearby.
The presidential palace is around 200m away and the residence of the Indian ambassador is also close.
The suicide bomb attack is the first in Kabul since January, when the German embassy was targeted.
The attack comes ahead of the presidential election on 20 August, which pits incumbent Hamid Karzai against 35 challengers.
Two recent polls have Mr Karzai with a comfortable lead over his nearest challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, but not enough to avoid a second round run-off.
Mr Karzai condemned the attack but said it would not stop Afghans from voting.
