No Georgians affected
By Tea Mariamidze
Monday, November 14
Georgia’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) reports that no Georgian soldiers were killed or injured during the blast inside Bagram airbase, the largest United States (US) military facility in Afghanistan, where a suicide bomber blew himself up at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Bagram is located north of the capital city of Kabul. It has been used as the main military base and airfield by the US-led forces and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) over the past 14 years.
885 Georgian soldiers also serve at Bagram within the NATO Resolute Support mission, launched in early 2015 as a follow-on task from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission, to which Georgia contributed about 750 troops.
“No Georgian servicemen were among the dead and injured. Security measures have been tightened at Bagram Airbase,” the statement of Georgia’s MoD reads.
The BBC informs that the US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said two members of the US armed forces and two contractors had died in the attack. Moreover, 16 US servicemen and one Polish soldier were injured.
CNN said the Taliban claimed responsibility in a tweet praising the "strong attack" on the installation.
“In a statement, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said a suicide bomber had targeted a sports ground where more than 100 military officers, important people and soldiers were busy exercising," CNN said.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg offered his support on Twitter to those affected by the attack.
"NATO remains committed to our mission to train and support the Afghan forces. We all stand united in the fight against terrorism," he said in a statement.
There are about 14,000 people on Bagram Airbase, with about 60% being contractors.
Currently, Georgia is the largest non-NATO contributor to the NATO peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan and the fifth largest among all the countries involved in the operaton.
