US soldiers in an armoured vehicle secure the site of a suicide car bomb blast, in Kabul, 08 September 2006

Security is tight across Kabul as Afghans commemorate the fifth anniversary of the assassination of anti-Taleban guerrilla leader Ahmed Shah Massoud.

A day before Saturday's ceremonies at the main stadium in Kabul, a suicide car bomber killed 16 people, including two U.S. soldiers, at the capital's square named after Massoud.

Officials say the bomber hit a U.S. convoy just outside the American Embassy, which is near the square.

Meanwhile, NATO says coalition troops killed at least 30 suspected Taleban militants in southern Afghanistan Saturday. They are the latest of more than 320 militants killed in an intense week-long NATO-led operation to destroy Taleban holdouts in the country.

Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.