(Image source: U.S. Army)

BY STEVEN SPARKMAN

ANCHOR EMILY SPAIN

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In Afghanistan, the Taliban is claiming responsibility for a truck bomb that blew up outside a NATO base on the eve of September 11. Here’s euronews with more.

“A suicide bomber has injured as many as 90 people, including 50 U.S. soldiers, in central Afghanistan. It’s being reported that the attacker, driving a truck, detonated an explosive device at the entrance of a combat outpost.”

The attack took place in Wardak province, in the same district where a U.S. Chinook helicopter was shot down by insurgents last month. The truck was loaded with several tons of explosives. The Guardian explains the sheer scale of the explosion.

“The blast tore a six-metre (20ft) hole in the wall of the base, in the Sayed Abad district of the eastern province of Wardak. The explosives were set off about 75 metres from the entrance to the base...”

The New York Times reports the attack killed at least five people, all Afghan civilians, including a young girl hit by shrapnel over a half mile away. The report goes on to say -- the attack is a worrying sign.

“The bombing was another indication of the eroding security situation in Wardak and other provinces close to the capital, even as NATO officials say violence overall in the country has begun to decline.”

But HLN spoke to General John Allen, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, who said the fact that the Taliban is only able to muster a few suicide bombers is actually a sign of their decline.

General John Allen: “This attack was a high-profile attack. It was a pretty significant suicide vehicle bomb. But they have been ejected from the population in so many places around the country that their only ability to influence the battlefield in many cases, on many occasions, is simply -- the high profile attack.”

Of the troops injured, NATO said in a statement they are all expected to recover soon, and that the base is operating normally.