Nato says six foreign soldiers killed in attack near Kabul

KABUL: Nato said six foreign soldiers were killed in an attack on Monday near the Bagram airbase outside the Afghan capital.        

“Six service members were killed in a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attack in the vicinity of Bagram Air Field,” a Nato spokesman said

At least three foreign soldiers were killed when a Taliban suicide bomber on a motorcycle attacked a joint Nato-Afghan patrol near the Bagram airbase outside Kabul, officials said.

“The attack left three coalition soldiers dead and two others wounded. Three Afghan policemen were also injured in the attack,” said Mohammad Asem, governor of Parwan province where the airfield is located.

A security official in the Bagram district gave a higher toll, saying five foreign soldiers had been killed and six others had been wounded.

The nationalities of the troops were not immediately known. In a brief statement Natoconfirmed the attack but gave no details. “There has been a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attack in the vicinity of Bagram Air Field. At this time, the incident is under investigation,” it said.           

The Taliban claimed responsibility, with a spokesman claiming on Twitter that 19 US soldiers had been killed. The insurgents are known routinely to exaggerate battlefield claims.