Umar Farooq
08 April 2019•Update: 09 April 2019
WASHINGTON
Three U.S. service members and a contractor were killed Monday near an American military base in Afghanistan.
An additional three service members were wounded by the improvised explosive device near Bagram Air Base, according to the Pentagon.
The wounded were evacuated and are currently receiving medical care.
The Taliban later claimed responsibility for killings. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed tweeted an image of the blast along with a statement saying a suicide bomber waited for hours for the Americans to come out of the base before attacking them.
The air base, 40 miles from Kabul, is the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan, hosting thousands of troops from Washington.
The names of the military personnel who were killed are currently being withheld until their families or next of kin are notified.
Last month, two U.S. soldiers were killed in Kunduz province while conducting an operation, an official statement confirmed on March 22. In January, the Taliban took responsibility for killing one U.S. soldier in Uruzgan province.
The deaths come amid negotiations to broker peace between Afghan national forces and the Taliban.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, is leading the push for talks with the Taliban. He returned to Kabul on Sunday after a brief visit to Pakistan.
This comes after multiple rounds of talks between the U.S. and the Taliban in Qatar.
The next round of talks is set to take place later this month, but no exact dates have been announced.
The U.S.-led talks are aimed at ending the 17-year war in Afghanistan.
The deaths Monday bring the total number of U.S. service members killed this year to seven.
*Shadi Khan Saif contributed to this report.
