According to reports out of Afghanistan, five U.S. troops received non-life threatening injuries in an apparent suicide-bomber attack on Monday, the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that led to the onset of the war on terror. A sixth member of the U.S. led coalition was reportedly also injured.
A U.S. Defense official stated that all injured personnel are in stable condition and received only minor injuries when their convoy was attacked by a suicide bomber. Official confirmation from the Pentagon has yet to be released, but NATO reports say the attack took place near Bagram Airfield.
A small number of Resolute Support service members and Afghan civilians were wounded today when a suicide attacker targeted their convoy with a vehicle borne improvised explosive device near the village of Qal’eh-ye Musa Bala in Parwan Province,” according to a statement released by the coalition.
The release goes on to state that the wounded service members were taken to Bagram airfield hospital for treatment, though none of their injuries were considered to be life threatening by officials at the scene. The civilians injured in the attack were taken to a local hospital, though the release states that their condition is unknown at this time. Conflicting reports indicate that as many as three civilians may have been injured in the attack.
CNN has reported that the coalition troops were conducting a routine patrol in the area when a suicide bomber hiding in parked car detonated the bomb in his vehicle as the convoy passed by. This report comes from an unnamed defense official, and could not be independently corroborated by SOFREP.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that 13 Americans were killed, 11 more were wounded, and three vehicles were destroyed in the effort. The Taliban, like many other Islamist Extremist groups, are known to exaggerate their reports of these sorts of attacks.
There are currently around 11,000 American troops deployed to Afghanistan, with more expected in the near future as President Trump moves forward with his recently announced strategy to bring America’s longest war to a conclusion. Most of the additional troops are expected to fill advisory roles alongside their Afghan counterparts, though attacks like this demonstrate clearly that the danger does not subside as U.S. troops support combat operations, rather than executing them directly.
As Islamist extremists in Afghanistan continue to take the fight to American and allied troops, President Trump, as well as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford, took part in a Pentagon ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that led to the U.S. presence in Afghanistan in the first place.
“Each of us will walk away from this simple ceremony reminded that the war is not over and that further sacrifice will be required,” Dunford said before those gathered for the ceremony.
President Trump, who has received some criticism from his base for choosing to increase the U.S.’ commitment to the war effort in Afghanistan, then took to the podium to emphasize that the fight overseas is intended to keep Americans safe at home.
We’re ensuring that they never again have a safe haven to launch attacks against our country. We are making plain to these savage killers that there is no dark corner beyond our reach, no sanctuary beyond our grasp and nowhere to hide anywhere on this very large Earth,” Trump said.
Image courtesy of the Department of Defense
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