4 Americans killed, 17 wounded in U.S. military base suicide bombing in Afghanistan

U.S. Army Spc. David Cruz, 717th Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit, guards the perimeter during a mass casualty and extraction exercise with Airmen from the 83rd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron at Bagram Airfield on Aug. 18, 2016. A suicide bomber attacked the Bagram Airfield military base in Afghanistan on Saturday, killing four people and leaving 17 injured. The bomber entered the base dressed as a day worker and detonated explosives on his vest while standing in a line with Afghan laborers reporting for duty.Photo by Justyn M. Freeman/U.S. Air Force/UPI

KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 12 (UPI) — A suicide bomber killed four Americans and wounded 17 other people at a U.S. military base in Afghanistan on Saturday.

Two U.S. service members and two U.S. contractors were killed. An additional 16 U.S. service members and one Polish soldier were wounded in the explosion at Bagram Airfield near Kabul. U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter confirmed the incident in a statement.

“I want to express my sincere condolences to the families of the fallen, and I want to reassure the loved ones of those injured that they are getting the best possible care,” Carter said. “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.”

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in which the suicide bomber entered the large and heavily guarded base around 5:30 a.m. dressed as a day laborer a foreign security source told the Wall Street Journal.

Upon entering the base the bomber stood in a line with Afghan laborers reporting for duty and detonated the explosives on his vest, the BBC reported.

Bagram Airfield is a home base to tens of thousands of contractors. Patrols near the base have been the target of multiple Taliban rocket attacks and a suicide bombing in December 2015, which killed six U.S. soldiers.

“To those who target coalition forces, ANDSF, and Afghan civilians, Resolute Support and USFOR-A will continue to pursue our Train, Advise and Assist mission to help our partners create a better Afghanistan,” Resolute Support Cmdr. Gen. John W. Nicholson said in a press release.

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