Earlier today, a car bomb struck outside the gates of Bagram Air Base, the main U.S. operations hub in Afghanistan. According to a news release from Combined Joint Task Force 101, the driver sprinted away from the vehicle before it detonated; moments later, the explosives he was carrying detonated as he approached the main gate. Three contractors were injured.
This isn't the first time Bagram has been targeted by suicide attack. During a visit by then-Vice President Dick Cheney in 2007, the Taliban orchestrated a bombing outside Bagram that killed over 20 people. While Cheney was not in immediate danger, the blast was clearly meant to broadcast a message: we can strike anywhere.
Bagram could perhaps described as the most secure place in Afghanistan, but the heavily fortified base still comes under occasional rocket and mortar attack. Back in 2005, Bagram was also the scene of a demonstration that turned into a "Death to America" riot after coalition forces detained local villagers.
[PHOTO: Nathan Hodge]
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