KABUL, May 19, (Agencies): Seven Taleban militants were killed and at least five NATO personnel wounded in clashes at Bagram military base in northern Afghanistan on Wednesday, NATO said.
The Taleban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying 20 suicide bombers took part in the assault, which began overnight and came a day after eight international troops were killed in a series of attacks.
“Seven insurgents have been killed during an ongoing attack on Bagram that included rockets, small arms and grenades,” NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement. “Five service members were wounded.”
Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taleban leadership, told AFP: “Twenty Taleban suicide bombers attacked the base in Bagram.”
“Four suicide bombers activated their explosive belts and fighting is continuing at the base,” Mujahid said. Bagram, around 60 kms (35 miles) north of Kabul, is a huge NATO airbase. International forces also have a prison at the site, opened following the fall of the Taleban regime in late 2001.
The entrance to the base was hit by a double attack in March 2009, which wounded three civilians. Wednesday’s attack came after attacks on Tuesday left eight NATO soldiers dead. A suicide car bomb attack claimed by the Taleban killed at least 18 people, including six troops — five US and one Canadian.
NATO said another two soldiers had been killed in the south of the country on Tuesday, one by an improvised explosive device, the weapon of choice for Taleban insurgents, and one by small arms fire.
At least 210 NATO soldiers, 130 of them from the United States, have died in the war so far this year. It has been the deadliest January to May period since a US-led invasion brought down the Taleban regime.
Reconciliation efforts with insurgents is critical for Afghanistan’s stability, NATO’s top diplomat for the country said on Wednesday, but he warned against compromises with hardline Taleban factions.
Mark Sedwill said the international community was behind President Hamid Karzai for reaching out to those Taleban who are willing to renounce violence.
Karzai will host a grand assembly of Afghans later this month to present his draft for negotiations with the Taleban and to seek advice from delegates on peace moves.
“There won’t be stability in Afghanistan if there is just some side deal with members of the Taleban or certain factions within the Taleban that compromises those rights, because then other communities within Afghanistan won’t accept the outcome.
Karzai’s latest peace plan pushes for the reintegration of Taleban’s foot soldiers and proposes the removal of the names of insurgent leaders from a UN sanctions list and possibly giving them asylum overseas.
“Reconciliation will be hard and there will be some difficult moments, but all of us believe it is a critical element in bringing stability to this country,” Sedwill said. The Taleban have repeatedly rejected Karzai’s peace overtures in recent years, saying they will not engage in any peace talks as long as foreign troops remained in Afghanistan.