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A Taliban attack in Afghanistans fortified capital Tuesday triggered fresh concerns about the ability of U.S.-trained Afghan security forces to secure Kabul as international combat troops withdraw from the war-torn nation.

A small truck laden with explosives rammed the gate of a compound housing foreigners on Kabuls eastern outskirts, Afghan officials said. Two gunmen then tried to enter the breached gate. Four people, including two Afghan security guards, were killed in the attack, and no NATO forces were slain or wounded.

The assault was the latest in stepped-up bombings in the capital. Over the past week, suicide bombers have targeted the chief of police and a female lawmaker, both of whom survived.

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Before Tuesdays attack, analysts had suggested that the Taliban is set to exploit weaknesses in Afghanistans security forces as U.S. and NATO troops dwindle to about 12,000 over the next two years.

Thomas Joscelyn, a security analyst with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the Taliban is actually in pretty good shape to make a stunning comeback after the West leaves, despite more than a decade of U.S.-led warfare.

U.S. intelligence officials have long warned of senior al Qaeda operatives fleeing into Afghanistan to avoid U.S. drone strikes on hideouts in Pakistan.

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But analysts say a more disturbing development centers on behind-the-scenes assistance the Taliban has received from Pakistan as well as from the Haqqani network, whose terrorists move easily across the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

Theyve already been providing broad support for the Taliban, even with the U.S. there, said Mr. Joscelyn, senior editor of the Long War Journal.With the U.S. drawing out of the region, thats only going to increase.

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Doubts about Afghanistan's military on rise