The Latest: US forces say contractor not killed on Monday

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Latest on the Taliban attack on U.S. service members in Afghhanistan (all times local):

U.S. forces in Afghanistan have revised their death toll from a Taliban attack the day before near the main American base in the country and now say that three U.S. soldiers were killed but not a contractor who was initially reported among the fatalities.

The U.S. and NATO Resolute Support mission issued a statement on Tuesday "to clarify initial reporting."

It says a roadside bomb attack during a convoy near the Bagram Airfield killed three American service members and that "the contractor who was reported as killed, is alive."

The statement says "the contractor, an Afghan citizen, was initially treated along with other injured civilians, later identified as a contractor and treated at Bagram Airfield."

A Taliban attack has killed three American service members and a U.S. contractor when their convoy was hit by a roadside bombing on Monday near the main U.S. base in Afghanistan.

The U.S. and NATO Resolute Support mission said the four Americans were killed near the Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, while three others were wounded in the explosion. The base in Bagram district is located in northern Parwan province and serves as the main U.S. air facility in the country.

The wounded were evacuated and are receiving medical care, the statement said. It added that in accordance with U.S. Department of Defense policy, the names of service members killed in action were being withheld until after the notification of next of kin. </s> Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) Four Americans were killed in an apparent suicide bomb attack early Saturday at Bagram Airfield, the largest US base in Afghanistan, US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said.

Two of those killed were service members, and two were contractors, he said, adding he was "deeply saddened" by the news.

The explosion also wounded 16 other US service members and one Polish soldier participating in the NATO mission, Carter said in a statement.

The Taliban claimed responsibility in a tweet praising the "strong attack" on Bagram Airfield.

In a statement, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said a suicide bomber had targeted "a sports ground where more than 100 military officers, important people and soldiers were busy exercising."

The attack on the airfield had been planned for four months, he said.

A NATO coalition official told CNN that the bomber, who is presumed dead, detonated the suicide bomb vest on a sidewalk near where people were preparing for a run.

The base was under lockdown, and additional security measures were instituted at all other locations in Afghanistan for the United States and coalition allies, the official said.

Carter offered his condolences to the families of those killed and said the injured were getting the best possible care.

"Force protection is always a top priority for us in Afghanistan, and we will investigate this tragedy to determine any steps we can take to improve it," he said.

"For those who carried out this attack, my message is simple. We will not be deterred in our mission to protect our homeland and help Afghanistan secure its own future."

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg offered his support on Twitter to those affected by the attack.

"NATO remains committed to our mission to train and support the Afghan forces. We all stand united in the fight against terrorism," he said in a statement.

The airfield is next to the ancient city of Bagram, southeast of Charikar in Parwan province. Bagram is more than 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of Kabul, the Afghan capital.

Urgent investigations are being carried out at the base, and security has been tightened, according to CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr. The military will want to ensure that anyone tied to the blast is found before people are allowed to leave the base.

"The question now is, how did someone get inside?" she said. "There's very strict security at these bases. ... If you come in a vehicle, you are stopped well before the outside gate. Vehicles are searched, people are searched, people must have ID -- so it's very difficult to understand right now how this happened."

There are about 14,000 people on the Bagram base, with about 60% contractors, according to Starr. Locals move on and off the base in some contractor roles, she said.

Security breaches at coalition bases in Afghanistan have occurred but are rare, she added.

Monir Ahmad Farhad, a provincial spokesman, said four people were killed and more 100 people were injured in the attack in Mazar-e-Sharif, the provincial capital. No German diplomats were hurt. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

Those deaths happened the same day Taliban mortars killed at least seven people at a wedding party in Faryab province in northern Afghanistan, police spokesman Kareem Youresh said. At least 13 people were wounded. </s> Three American service members and a U.S. contractor were killed in a roadside bombing near the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan Monday, U.S. military officials announced.

Three other U.S. service members were also wounded in the attack.

The wounded service members were evacuated and are receiving medical attention.

Prior to Monday's attack, there had been a total of four U.S. service members killed in Afghanistan this year.

The names of the service members killed in Monday's attack are being withheld for 24 hours until next of kin can be notified.

This is a developing news story. Check back here for more updates. </s> (KABUL, Afghanistan) — U.S. forces in Afghanistan revised on Tuesday the death toll from a Taliban attack the previous day near the main American base in the country, saying three U.S. soldiers were killed but not a contractor who was initially reported among the fatalities.

The U.S. and NATO Resolute Support mission issued a statement “to clarify initial reporting” about Monday’s roadside bombing of an American convoy near the main U.S. base. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

The mission said a roadside bomb hit the convoy near the Bagram Airfield, killing three American service members, and that “the contractor who was reported as killed, is alive.”

The statement said “the contractor, an Afghan citizen, was initially treated along with other injured civilians, later identified as a contractor and treated at Bagram Airfield.”

Three other U.S. service members were also wounded in the attack. The base in Bagram district is located in northern Parwan province and serves as the main U.S. air facility in the country.

The wounded were evacuated and are receiving medical care, the statement said. It added that in accordance with U.S. Department of Defense policy, the names of service members killed in action were being withheld until after the notification of next of kin.

In their claim of responsibility, the Taliban said they launched the attack and that one of their suicide bombers detonated his explosives-laden vehicle near the NATO base. The conflicting accounts could not be immediately reconciled.

On Tuesday, local Afghan officials said at least five Afghan civilians were wounded in the commotion after the attack on the American convoy.

Four were passers-by and the fifth was a driver of a car going down the road, said Abdul Raqib Kohistani, the Bagram district police chief. Abdul Shakor Qudosi, the district administrative chief in Bagram, said American soldiers opened fire immediately after their convoy was bombed.

Monday’s U.S. fatalities bring to seven the number of U.S. soldiers killed so far this year in Afghanistan, underscoring the difficulties in bringing peace to the war-wrecked country even as Washington has stepped up efforts to find a way to end the 17-year war, America’s longest.

There are about 14,000 U.S. forces in Afghanistan, supporting embattled Afghan forces as they struggle on two fronts — facing a resurgent Taliban who now hold sway over almost half the country and also the Islamic State affiliate, which has sought to expand its footprint in Afghanistan even as its self-proclaimed “caliphate” has crumbled in Syria and Iraq.

Last year, 13 U.S. service members were killed in Afghanistan.

The Taliban have continued to carry out daily attacks on Afghan security forces despite holding several rounds of peace talks with the United States in recent months. The Taliban have refused to meet with the Afghan government, which they view as a U.S. puppet.

Meanwhile, the Taliban have agreed to take part in an all-Afghan gathering later this month in Qatar, where the insurgents maintain a political office. But the Taliban say they will not recognize any government official attending the gathering as a representative of the Kabul government, only as an individual Afghan participant. </s> Kabul: Three US troops and a contractor were killed in an explosion near Bagram Air Base on Monday, NATO said, after the Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast.

“Three US service members and one contractor were killed, and three US service members were wounded by an improvised explosive device April 8 near Bagram Air Base,” the transatlantic military alliance’s mission in Afghanistan, Resolute Support, said in a statement. </s> (KABUL, Afghanistan) — U.S. forces in Afghanistan say three U.S. service members and a contractor have been killed in a roadside bombing near the main American air base in the country. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

The U.S. and NATO Resolute Support mission says the four Americans were killed on Monday near the Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul.

The statement also says three American soldiers were wounded in the explosion and are receiving medical care.

It says that in accordance with U.S. Department of Defense policy, the name of the service members killed in action are being withheld until 24 hours after notification of next of kin.

The Taliban said a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden vehicle near the NATO base in Bagram district, in Parwan province. </s> Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The attack happened near Bagram air base (file image)

Three US service members and one contractor have been killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.

Three other service members were hurt, the Nato alliance said. The explosion occurred near Bagram air base, 50km (31 miles) north of the capital Kabul.

Earlier three people were killed in twin explosions in the eastern city of Jalalabad.

A total of seven US military members have died in Afghanistan in 2019. In March, two soldiers were killed.

The US has about 14,000 troops in Afghanistan.

In February, the top US envoy seeking to broker peace in Afghanistan met the Taliban's co-founder in an attempt to end the 17-year conflict. </s> Two U.S. service members and two U.S. contractors have been killed at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, according to the Pentagon.

An Islamic fundamentalist belonging to the radical group the Taliban wearing a suicide vest blew himself up inside NATO’s largest and one of the most secure military bases in Afghanistan early Saturday.

Another 16 U.S. service members and one Polish soldier were injured in the blast at Bagram Airfield, Defense Secretary Ash Carter confirmed in a statement.

“Force protection is always a top priority for us in Afghanistan, and we will investigate this tragedy to determine any steps we can take to improve it,” Carter said. “For those who carried out this attack, my message is simple. We will not be deterred in our mission to protect our homeland and help Afghanistan secure its own future.”

The attack occurred around 5:30 a.m. local time as people were gathering for a post-Veterans Day fun run.

There was no immediate word on the identities of the victims. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast, according to The Associated Press, which quoted a spokesman who said they have been planning the coordinated carnage for four months.

The suicide bomber chose the time and location because he “was looking for an opportunity to do the most damage,” a senior U.S. military official told NBC News.

“To the family and friends of those who lost their lives today, we share your loss and our thoughts are with you,” U.S. Army General John W. Nicholson said in the statement. “We offer you our deepest condolences. For the family and friends of those wounded in today’s attack, let me assure you they are receiving the best care possible, and we will keep them in our thoughts today.”

The base was put on lockdown following the attack.

Bagram Airfield features several layers of security, including retinal scans. It was unclear how someone got into the base with a suicide vest. </s> Deadly attack at largest US military base in Afghanistan blamed on suicide bomber posing as labourer

KABUL: Four people were killed yesterday in an explosion inside the largest US military base in Afghanistan, Nato said, with local officials blaming a suicide attacker posing as a labourer for the major security breach.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast inside the heavily fortified Bagram Airfield, north of Kabul, which wounded 14 others as the insurgents ramp up their nationwide offensive before the onset of winter, when fighting usually ebbs.

The nationalities of those killed and wounded were not immediately known after the explosion, which highlights rising insecurity in Afghanistan nearly two years after US-led Nato forces formally ended their combat operations.

“An explosive device was detonated on Bagram Airfield resulting in multiple casualties. Four people have died in the attack and approximately 14 have been wounded,” Nato said in a statement.

“Response teams at Bagram continue to treat the wounded and investigate the incident.”

The blast was caused by a suicide attacker who blew himself up near a dining facility inside the base, said Waheed Sediqi, spokesman for the governor of Parwan province where Bagram is located.

“We don’t know the identity of victims yet but the attacker was one of the Afghan labourers working there,” Sediqi told AFP.

Bagram district governor Abdul Shakoor Quddusi described the explosion around 0100 GMT as “powerful”, saying it reverberated across the area.

The United States has around 10,000 troops in Afghanistan, with the largest contingent stationed at the Bagram base.

The brazen attack represents a major security breach inside what is regarded as one of the most heavily guarded military installations in Afghanistan.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the insurgent group was behind the suicide attack inside Bagram, claiming it inflicted “heavy casualties on US invaders”.

Bagram Airfield has frequently come under attack by Taliban insurgents.

Last December, a motorcycle-riding Taliban suicide bomber killed six US soldiers near the base in one of the deadliest attacks on foreign troops in the country in 2015.

The latest assault came after a powerful Taliban truck bomb struck the German consulate in Afghanistan’s northern Mazar-i-Sharif city late Thursday, killing at least six people and wounding more than 100 others.

The uptick in attacks against Western targets comes just days after a bitter US presidential election. Afghanistan got scarcely a passing mention in the election campaign — even though the situation there will be an urgent matter for the new president. – AFP
A roadside bomb kills three U.S. troops and one civilian contractor near Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.