KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- The Taliban took credit Sunday for a bombing that killed five Afghans and wounded nearly 80 U.S. troops in eastern Afghanistan.
A statement from the insurgent group claimed the truck bomb in Wardak province killed about 50 Americans, but NATO said no U.S. personnel were among those killed and most of the 77 injuries were not life-threatening.
The attack took place in the Sayedabad district of Wardak. Sayedabad is the same district where the Taliban shot down a U.S. helicopter carrying Navy special operations troops last month.
CNN said initial reports were that a truck loaded with firewood approached the security gate of the base and then exploded. A regional spokesman said the Afghan fatalities were civilian laborers employed by the base.
The governor's office in Wardak told the Los Angeles Times the bomb damaged several buildings and left another 17 Afghans injured. NATO said protective barriers around the U.S. base absorbed the brunt of the explosion.
The bombing failed to stop Sunday's commemoration of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that led to the U.S. military incursion into Afghanistan. Several hundred Americans and Afghan officials gathered at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul for a ceremony presided over by Ambassador Ryan Crocker, the Times said.
