Explosion hits largest US military base in Afghanistan
November 12, 2016
An explosion has hit the largest US military base in Afghanistan, killing at least four and wounding 14, US officials say. The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack.
Image: Reuters/O. Sobhani
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Four Americans, including two soldiers and two contractors, were killed Saturday by a suicide bomber at the Bagram Airfield, the largest US military airbase in Afghanistan's central Parwan province, according to the US military. The attack struck just after 5:30 a.m. (0100 GMT).
US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said he was "deeply saddened" by the news and expressed his "sincere condolences" to the families of the victims.
"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.
As for the attackers, he added, "my message is simple. We will not be deterred in our mission to protect our homeland and help Afghanistan secure its own future."
Security is stepped-up around Bagram air baseImage: picture-alliance/dpa/H. Yatullah Amid
Waheed Sediqi, spokesman for the governor of Parwan province, said the blast was caused by a suicide attacker who blew himself up near a dining facility. "We don't know the identity of victims yet, but the attacker was one of the Afghan laborers working there," Sediqi said.
In a statement, US Army General John W. Nicholson, the commander of NATO's "Resolute Support" mission, confirmed that four were killed and at least 14 wounded. "To the family and friends of those who lost their lives today, we share your loss and our thoughts are with you," Nicholson said in a statement. "We offer you our deepest condolences."
The Taliban's spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid took to Twitter to take responsibility and claimed a heavy death toll.
Bagram Airfield, which lies about 60 kilometers (36 miles) north of the capital, Kabul, has frequently come under attack by Taliban insurgents. A motorcycle-riding Taliban suicide attacker killed six US soldiers near the same US military base last December in one of the deadliest attacks on foreign soldiers in 2015.
Nearly 10,000 US troops are stationed in Afghanistan, assisting Afghan security forces under the Train, Advise and Assist (TAA) mission. Four people were killed and 128 others were wounded Thursday when a suicide bomber drove a truck laden with explosives into the German consulate in the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif. The Taliban said the attack was in retaliation for US air strikes near the northern city of Kunduz last week which killed more than 30 civilians.
jar/tj (Reuters, dpa, AFP)
Modern Afghanistan - in the past
Under the Taliban, women were required to wear an all-covering burqa when venturing outside their homes. But there were times in Afghan history when they adopted a more Western clothing style, as these photos show.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Aspiring doctors
This picture, taken in 1962, shows two female medicine students at the University of Kabul listening to their professor as they examine a plaster showing a human body part. At that time, women played an active role in Afghan society. They also had access to education and were able to take up work outside home.
Image: Getty Images/AFP
Style on Kabul's streets
Two young women dressed in Western-style outfits are seen in this picture taken in 1962 outside the building of Radio Kabul in the country's capital city, Kabul. After the fundamentalist Taliban took over power in the mid-1990s, women were required to wear an all-covering burqa when in public.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Equal rights for all - not always
In the mid-1970s, female students were a common sight at Afghan education centers such as Kabul's Polytechnical University. But some 20 years later, women's access to education in the conflict-ridden country was completely shut down. And it changed only after the toppling of the Taliban regime in 2001. The right to education for both men and women was enshrined in the 2003 Afghan Constitution.
Image: Getty Images/Hulton Archive/Zh. Angelov
Computer science in its infancy
In this picture a Soviet instructor is seen teaching computing technology to Afghan students at Kabul's Polytechnical Institute. During the 10-year Soviet occupation of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989, a number of Soviet lecturers taught at Afghan universities.
Image: Getty Images/AFP
Students among themselves
This 1981 picture shows an informal gathering of female and male Afghan students in Kabul. In 1979, a Soviet invasion of land-locked Afghanistan led to a 10-year war. When the Soviets withdrew from the country in 1989, a civil war ensued which culminated in the Taliban's accession to power in 1996.
Image: Getty Images/AFP
Schools for all
This picture shows Afghan girls at a secondary school in Kabul at the time of the Soviet occupation. During the Taliban regime that followed just a few years later, women and girls were barred from attending school and denied access to education. They were also banned from taking up employment outside home.
Image: Getty Images/AFP
A two-class society
In this picture taken in 1981, a woman, unveiled and without a headscarf, is seen with her children. Scenes such as these have been rare ever since. Even almost 15 years after the collapse of the Taliban regime, women continue to struggle for equality in the male-dominated Afghan society. For instance, there is only one woman taxi driver in the entire country.
