Foreign military vehicle hit near Afghanistan’s Bagram

By Zabihullah Tamanna

KABUL (AA) – A vehicle belonging to a NATO-led foreign military coalition on Saturday was struck by a bomb near Afghanistan’s Bagram district, which hosts the country’s largest U.S. airbase, according to a statement issued by the NATO-led "Resolute Support" mission.

"We can confirm that one coalition vehicle was struck by an IED [improvised explosive device] this morning in the vicinity of Bagram," the statement read.

"Despite Taliban claims and reports in the media, there were no injuries to coalition personnel," it added without elaborating further.

One resident of the area, who gave his name only as "Irfanullah" due to fears of reprisal, said two civilians had been injured by the blast.

He added that coalition troops had since cordoned off the area and were stopping anyone from approaching the blast site.

Bagram District Chief Abdul Shakor Qodusi, for his part, said the attack had occurred in the village of Nasro at around 10am.

He did not provide any information regarding causalities.

The Taliban later claimed responsibility for Saturday’s blast, which, the group said in an emailed statement, had been the result of a suicide car-bomb detonated by one of its members from the Helmand province.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid asserted that at least 15 U.S. servicemen and women had been killed in the attack.

Along with the airfield, Afghanistan’s strategically important Bagram district -- located in the eastern Parwan province -- is home to a number of foreign troops deployed in the war-torn country.

In a related development Saturday, a foreign employee of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) was killed -- and two others injured -- in a shooting attack in Kabul, according to a UNAMA statement.

Haseeb Sediqqi, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security, confirmed the incident.