Suicide bomber in Afghan uniform kills 5 coalition troops (VIDEO)

A suicide bomber dressed in an Afghan army uniform killed five U.S.-led coalition troops and four Afghan soldiers Saturday at a base in eastern Laghman province.

The attack was one of the deadliest incidents for international troops in recent years.

The Taliban Saturday claimed responsibility for the attack and said the bomber was an Afghan National Army recruit, reports the Wall Street Journal. There have been a string of attacks on foreign and Afghan troops by insurgents who have infiltrated the ranks.

A day earlier an insurgent wearing a police uniform evaded tight security and killed Khan Mohammad Mujahid, the police chief of southern Kandahar province.

“This kind of attacks are very useful for us — recruiting someone and working inside the Afghan forces — these attacks inflict more casualties to the enemy and does not inflict any civilians casualties,” Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, told the New York Times.

However, the Afghan Defense Ministry said it was investigating whether it was infiltrator or an insurgent who managed to acquire a fake uniform, Reuters reports.

Saturday's attack took place in one of the biggest military installations in east Afghanistan, home to the 201st Corps of the Afghan army, it states. The NATO members were reportedly attending a meeting early Monday morning at the base headquarters.

The bombing injured four other Afghan troops and four Afghan translators.

More than 120 foreign soldiers have died in Afghanistan this year.