Americans killed in Afghanistan bombing

A roadside bomb near the main U.S. base in Afghanistan killed three American service members on Monday, U.S. forces confirmed. The explosion occurred near Bagram Airfield, which serves as the major U.S. air facility in the country, the United States and the NATO Resolute Support mission said. Three other Americans and an Afghan contractor sustained injuries in the attack. The Taliban claimed responsibility, saying its suicide bomber detonated an explosive-filled car near the base.

The attack raises the number of U.S. service members killed this year in Afghanistan to seven. The Taliban has continued to target security forces even as it engages in peace talks with the United States. In a Monday night attack, the Islamic extremist group’s insurgents killed at least five Afghan security officials at a joint army and police base in northern Sari Pul province, and Afghan officials reported 20 dead in an attack in southern Kandahar province.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. envoy for Afghanistan, last month said he reached two “draft agreements” with the extremist group in a bid to end the 17-year war.