Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
April 9, 2019
Three U.S. service members and an American contractor have been killed in a roadside bombing near the main NATO air base in Afghanistan, U.S. forces in Afghanistan said on April 8.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
The NATO-led Resolute Support mission said in a statement on April 8 that four Americans were killed on April 8 near Bagram Air Base, around 50 kilometers north of Kabul.
Three American soldiers were wounded in the blast and were receiving medical treatment, the statement also said.
Colonel David Butler, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said a car bomb had detonated near a NATO security convoy, which lead to deaths and injuries.
The names of the service members killed in action were being withheld until 24 hours after notification of next of kin, in accordance with U.S. Department of Defense policy.
The Taliban said a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden car near the NATO base in the Bagram district of Parwan Province.
Local officials said at least five Afghan civilians were wounded in the blast.
The incident brings the number of U.S. service member deaths in Afghanistan to seven in 2019, and a total of 68 U.S. military deaths since January 2015, according to the U.S. government.
Afghan security forces have borne the brunt of the fighting since NATO’s combat mission ended in 2014.
President Ashraf Ghani said that about 45,000 Afghan soldiers and policemen have been killed since he took office in September 2014 — an average of 849 per month.
Based on reporting by AP and Stripes.com
Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
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No body should be
killed
in
Afghanistan- it is
a
shame and disgrace
for
all !
*