KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Eight American troops died in attacks in southern Afghanistan, officials said today as the Taliban push back against a coalition effort to secure the volatile region.

A suicide attacker slammed a car bomb into the gate of the headquarters of the elite Afghan National Civil Order Police late Tuesday in Kandahar, a NATO statement said. Minutes later, insurgents opened fire with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.

Three U.S. troops, an Afghan policeman and five civilians died in the attack, but NATO said the insurgents failed to enter the compound.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi telephoned reporters today to claim responsibility for the attack.

Today, four more American troops were killed by a roadside bomb in the south, while one more U.S. service member died the same day of wounds from a gunbattle.

So far in July, 45 international troops have died in Afghanistan, 33 of them Americans.