KABUL, Afghanistan — At least eight members of the American-led forces in Afghanistan were killed in attacks in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday and Wednesday. NATO officials  said, these numbers include three American troops who died in a nighttime assault on an Afghan police post in Kandahar.

Four of the troops were killed by an improvised bomb attack in southern Afghanisthan on Wednesday, said NATO.  However officials did not provide any details on the nationalities of the dead, or where the attack had occurred.

Tuesday’s assault on the Afghan Civil Order Police headquarters in Kandahar, a suicide car bomber drove into the outer perimeter on Tuesday night this was followed by attackers armed with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns. The attack went on for about 20 minutes before the Afghan police and NATO troops repelled the insurgents, this is in accordance to statements from NATO and from the Kandahar governor’s office.

Afghan and NATO officials also informed that in addition to the three American troops, an Afghan police officer and five civilians were killed. The nationality of the dead civilians was not known immediately.

It was not clear whether any of the attackers were killed.

“Afghan forces are gaining ground,” said Capt. Jane Campbell of the Navy, a NATO spokeswoman. “We commend the actions of those courageous service members who stood their ground and helped repel the insurgent attacks,” she said.

The assault resembled the two recent attacks on American bases at Bagram and Jalalabad in which suicide car bombers detonated their explosives, allowing small groups of insurgents to launch follow-up attacks using grenades and other weapons.

A roadside bomb exploded Tuesday afternoon in the Marja district of Helmand Province as a minivan was passing, killing nine civilians, including three children, said the Helmand governor’s spokesman, Dawood Ahmadi.

Dawood Ahmadi said “We strongly condemn this wild and cruel action of the enemies of Afghanistan.