Afghan Taliban kill 6 Guards outside US Military Base
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Two guards were wounded in the late Monday attack while the men were on their way to the Bagram military base, north of Kabul, the U.S. military said. Afghan officials said eight guards were killed and two wounded.
"In the past, there were attacks on Bagram air base’s Afghan employees individually, but this is the first time that armed forces target them in a group," said Bagram district governor Abdul Shukor Qodosi.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the group had carried out the attack, which occurred about an hour before midnight on Monday in a village.
In November last year, an Afghan working at the Bagram base detonated a suicide bomb on the base, killing four Americans and wounding at least 17 people.
Before that attack, there were more than 3,000 Afghans working at Bagram, a number that has since dropped by half to about 1,500, according to Qodosi.
About 8,400 American troops are in Afghanistan, alongside more than 6,500 troops from allied countries, mostly to provide training and assistance to Afghan forces.
Bagram also hosts a number of U.S. Air Force attack and cargo aircraft that provide air support for international and Afghan troops.
