Three Czech NATO soldiers were killed and one U.S. service member was injured Sunday morning during a suicide attack in Afghanistan, according to multiple reports.
Two Afghan National Army troops were also injured in the bombing, which took place while the service members were conducting a routine foot patrol in the country’s eastern province of Parwan near Bagram Airfield, one of the largest U.S. military bases in Afghanistan.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis took to Twitter to remember the fallen soldiers as “heroes,” per the BBC.
“Their sacrifice will endure in both our hearts and history, and further strengthen our resolve,” U.S. Army Gen. John Nicholson, Resolute Support and U.S. Forces-Afghanistan commander, added in a written statement.
Three Resolute Support service members killed on a patrol, August 5, in eastern #Afghanistan. Additionally, two Afghan National Army soldiers injured and @USFOR_A confirms one American service member injured. Our thoughts are w/ family and friends of those fallen and injured. pic.twitter.com/f2O0lTASFH
— Resolute Support (@ResoluteSupport) August 5, 2018
The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack as militants are fighting for the restoration of strict Islamic law, a spokesman told Reuters.
NATO’s combat mission against the Taliban formally concluded in 2014, but troops from 41 allied nations remain in the country to support local forces.
The bombing follows a U.S. soldier being killed in southern Afghanistan in July during a suspected “insider attack.”
