6 NATO Troops In Killed In Afghanistan Bombing

Czech soldiers near Bagram Airfield in 2014.

Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty Images

Six foreign soldiers working with the joint NATO mission in Afghanistan were killed Monday in a bombing near Bagram, in the country's east.

In a statement from the NATO Resolute Support mission, officials said the "vehicle-borne improvised explosive device" detonated around 1:30 p.m. local time.

Three NATO troops were also injured in the attack, which is now under investigation.

U.S. Army Col. Michael Lawhorn, a Resolute Support spokesperson, said the incident occurred in the vicinity of Bagram Airfield, which is the largest international base in Afghanistan.

The nationalities of those killed were not immediately released, due to a NATO policy deferring such casualty identification to the relevant national authorities.

“We’re deeply saddened by this loss,” Brig. Gen. Wilson A. Shoffner, the Resolute Support deputy chief of staff for communications, said in a statement. “On behalf of General Campbell and all of Resolute Support, our heartfelt sympathies go out to the families and friends of those affected in this tragic incident, especially during this holiday season.”

According to multiple reports, the Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Local Afghan officials told the Guardian that the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber on a motorbike. The attacker reportedly struck a joint U.S.-Afghan patrol in the village of Bajawryan.

“I heard a huge blast and turned my head,” Attaullah, a village resident, told the newspaper. “I saw a lot of smoke. I heard some alarms and vehicles, and saw helicopters landed in the rice field. They carried the bodies and injured into the helicopters."

SOURCE: BuzzFeed