Three Soldiers Killed In Army Base Explosion in Eastern Afghanistan

By Staff, Agencies

Three Afghan army soldiers and an assailant were killed and two soldiers wounded in a car bomb explosion that hit an army's operating base in the eastern Ghazni province on Wednesday, a local government spokesman confirmed.

"The incident occurred in Mullah Noah Baba locality of Andar district, in the wee hours of the day. A militant driving a hijacked military vehicle packed with explosives detonated the car after army soldiers identified and fired on the vehicle outside the base," spokesman Wahidullah Jumazada told Xinhua.

In addition, Afghan soldiers in a nearby army's camp identified a suspected explosive-laden mini-truck and intercepted the vehicle before the truck approach the camp, Jumazada added.

He said the militant escaped the scene and the army personnel defused the vehicle in the region, 125 km south of the country's capital Kabul.

The Taliban terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the deadly attack. Zabihullah Mujahid, a purported Taliban spokesman, told local reporters that the insurgent fighters conducted the bomb attack.

Wednesday's attack was the latest in a string of massive car bombings targeting military installations in the country in recent months.

On Monday, two dozen people, including 13 civilians, were wounded after a car bomb exploded outside a district police station in southern Kandahar province.