At least four people were killed early yesterday in an explosion inside the largest US military base in Afghanistan, NATO said, with the Taliban claiming responsibility for the major security breach.
The explosion struck at dawn inside the heavily fortified Bagram Airfield north of Kabul, as the Taliban step up attacks on Western targets before the onset of winter, when fighting usually ebbs.
The nationalities of those killed were not immediately known after the blast, which highlights a worsening security situation nearly two years after NATO formally ended its combat operations in Afghanistan.
“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.”
Waheed Sediqi, spokesman for the governor of Parwan Province, where Bagram is located, said the blast was caused by a suicide attacker who blew himself up near a dining facility inside the base.
“We don’t know the identity of victims yet, but the attacker was either one of the Afghan laborers working there,” Sediqi said.
Bagram District governor Abdul Shakoor Quddusi said the explosion that struck at about 1am was powerful and reverberated across the area.
“To the family and friends of those who lost their lives today, we share your loss and our thoughts are with you. We offer you our deepest condolences,” said John Nicholson, the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan. “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.”
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the insurgent group was behind the suicide attack inside Bagram, claiming it inflicted “heavy casualties on US invaders.”
The brazen attack represents an alarming security breach inside what is regarded as one of the most heavily guarded military installations in Afghanistan.
Bagram Airfield, close to Kabul, has frequently come under attack by Taliban insurgents.
In December last year, a Taliban suicide bomber killed six US soldiers near Afghanistan’s largest US military base.
The latest attack comes after a powerful Taliban truck bomb struck the German consulate in Afghanistan’s northern Mazar-i-Sharif city late on Thursday, killing at least six people and wounding more than 100 others.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was