Home Latest News Explosion Targets Largest U.S. base in Afghanistan

Explosion Targets Largest U.S. base in Afghanistan

by AFP
Shah Marai—AFP

Shah Marai—AFP

NATO says at least four people killed, 14 others wounded at Bagram Airfield.

An explosion struck Bagram Airfield close to Kabul early Saturday, NATO said, confirming some casualties in an apparent insurgent assault on the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan.

Abdul Shakoor Quddusi, the head of Bagram district, said three people were killed and 15 others were wounded in the “powerful blast,” but could not confirm the nationalities of the victims. The Afghan defense ministry said it was aware of the explosion but could not immediately confirm the casualties.

No militant group has so far claimed responsibility for the blast, which occurred as the Taliban step up nationwide attacks before the onset of winter, when fighting usually ebbs.

“We can confirm that there was an explosion at Bagram Airfield this morning just after 5:30 a.m. There have been casualties,” the military coalition said in a brief statement, adding that at least four people had been killed and 14 others injured. “Our Force Protection and medical teams are responding to the situation,” it added, without specifying what caused the explosion.

The blast highlights a worsening security situation nearly two years after NATO formally ended its combat operations in Afghanistan, with Afghan forces struggling to rein in

Bagram Airfield, close to Kabul, has frequently come under attack by Taliban insurgents. Last December, a motorcycle-riding Taliban suicide bomber killed six U.S. soldiers near Afghanistan’s largest U.S. military base. It was one of the deadliest attacks on foreign troops in the country in 2015.

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