Kabul (dpa) – Six US soldiers were killed while on patrol north of Kabul on Monday when a suicide bomber on a motorbike laden with explosives rammed into them.
US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter confirmed the dead were US troops after NATO earlier confirmed the attack without releasing the nationalities of those killed.
Two other US troops and a contractor were also injured when their patrol was hit by a suicide bomber, he said.
A file photo shows a US soldier standing guard as Afghan soldiers attend their graduation ceremony in Herat, Afghanistan, 13 January 2015.
The attack “serves as a painful reminder of the dangers our troops face every day in Afghanistan,” Carter said.
The incident happened while joint coalition and Afghan forces were patrolling in the Bagram district of Parwan province, Abdul Shakur Qudosi, the district chief, said.
The attack occurred 10 kilometres away from Bagram airbase, home to thousands of troops, most of them from the United States.
“We’re deeply saddened by this loss,” NATO spokesman Brigadier General Wilson A. Shoffner said. “Our heartfelt sympathies go out to the families and friends of those affected in this tragic incident, especially during this holiday season.”
The spokesman for coalition forces in Afghanistan, Colonel Michael Lawhorn, said the incident is under investigation.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. The group’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid put the number of fatalities at 19.
