Taliban insurgents launched a brazen attack on the U.S. base at Bagram on Wednesday morning, sparking a firefight continued as left at least five U.S. soldiers wounded.
The U.S. command confirmed that an attack was self-expression, and said that American soldiers had killed seven of the attackers. The military gave few details, but a NATO spokesman, Lieutenant CMdR. Iain Baxter, said that no rebels had got into the base.
Taliban leaders said the four suicide bombers had blown themselves up at the gate to the base, and they claimed that 30 of their fighters had been built. These reports could not confirm early Wednesday the Taliban frequently exaggerate their achievements on the ground.
The Bagram base, situated about 50 miles north of Kabul, the capital, is one of the most important hubs in the U.S. campaign in Afghanistan. Bagram serves as headquarters for the military action in eastern Afghanistan. It is surrounded by multiple layers of defense.
Wednesday the main road leading to the base was closed, and helicopters could be seen flying over the area.
The attack on Bagram comes on the heels of an attack Tuesday, a suicide bomber in Kabul, who drove an explosives laden bus in an American convoy, killing 18 people including the five American soldiers and a Canadian officer.
As a striker - and the one at Bagram Wednesday - seems to be a part of a larger campaign against the capital and surrounding areas. In recent days the Taliban have smuggled five suicide bombers into the area, a U.S. military spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Back-to-back attacks came as U.S. and Afghanistan leaders were due to launch a major offensive in the city of Kandahar to break the hold the rebels in southern Afghanistan.
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