Bagram Attack: Almost a Dozen Dead, Taliban Claims Responsibility

An Attack on the Bagram Air Base in Kabul Afghanistan Wednesday Morning Has Left Almost a Dozen Dead

Almost a dozen militants are dead including one U.S contractor after an attack on the Bagram Air Base. Nine service members were also wounded when around 20 armed men attacked the base with rockets, grenades and small arms. According to CNN, the U.S. military said that four of the dead insurgents were 'intended suicide bombers'. They had not been able to breach the perimeter of the base and that is why they could not blow themselves up.

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Security has now been tightened across Afghanistan and helicopters have taken to the skies to patrol the area.

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack, and a Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid told CNN that around 4am local time, 20 armed men wearing suicide vests stormed the base and that four of them detonated their vests at the entrance so that the others could get through.

The response of the soldiers on the base was immediate however and the Taliban's plan was not successful. The fighting lasted until about 7:30am local time.

Bagram is the central location and base for all United States troops in Afghanistan. It also doubles as a prison however and has a reputation among Afghans of torturing and ill-treating suspected Taliban prisoners.