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In a tweet,
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility and
said 19 U.S. soldiers had been killed and a number wounded.
NATO headquarters in Kabul confirmed there had been a
vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attack near Bagram Air
Base and said it was under investigation.
The police chief of Parwan province said three Afghan police had
been wounded in the attack. He said he was not authorized to
give details on foreign troop casualties.
Bagram, around 40 km (25 miles) to the north of the Afghan
capital, Kabul, is one of the main bases for the 9,800 U.S.
troops left in Afghanistan after international troops ended
combat operations last year.
The attack comes just over a week after suicide attacks on
Kandahar air base in southern Afghanistan and on a Spanish
embassy guesthouse in Kabul, underlining the Taliban's ability
to hit high-profile targets linked to the U.S.-backed
government.
On Monday, Taliban forces in Helmand closed in on the district
of Sangin as they tightened their grip on the volatile southern
province.
(Reporting by Mirwais Harooni; writing by James Mackenzie;
Editing by Nick Macfie)
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