Three American Soldiers Killed in Explosion North of Kabul

Three American soldiers and a contracted army employee were killed in a suicide attack on Monday, April 8, near Bagram Air Base in northern Kabul. According to the French news agency, the international coalition forces in Afghanistan announced that three other American forces were injured during this explosion. Meanwhile, the Taliban group claimed that one of its members attacked a coalition forces convoy with a vehicle filled with explosives. The Taliban also stated that an armored vehicle and its occupants were completely destroyed. Bagram is the largest American air base in Afghanistan, located in Parwan province, 50 kilometers north of Kabul. Salim Noori, a spokesman for the Parwan police, stated that the explosion occurred at 5:40 PM. Abdul Shakur Qudusi, the governor of the Bagram area, also told the French news agency that the suicide explosion occurred when the armored vehicle was near the entrance of Bagram base. Reports indicate that the injured from this suicide attack have been transferred to the hospital. This is considered the deadliest attack on American forces in 2019. So far this year, seven American forces have been killed in Afghanistan, while last year, 12 American forces were killed. The United States currently has 14,000 troops in Afghanistan. In the early years of the US invasion of Afghanistan, the number of American troops was around 100,000. The French news agency reports that American and Afghan forces have increased their operations against the Taliban in recent weeks. Meanwhile, Taliban leaders are set to meet face-to-face with Afghan officials next week in Qatar. Last week, Zalmay Khalilzad, the US special envoy for talks with the Taliban, called for inclusive Afghan dialogues. The Taliban has so far refrained from face-to-face negotiations with Afghan government officials. The Taliban and US negotiations were held in early February in Doha, Qatar, focusing on the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan and guarantees from the Taliban to prevent the establishment of foreign extremist groups or the use of Afghan territory for terrorist attacks on other countries. The Trump administration is seeking to end the 17-year US war that has resulted in tens of thousands of casualties.