Six Afghan civilians killed after explosion near US military base

An Afghan official reported that an explosion on a road near the main base for United States troops in Afghanistan has claimed the lives of six civilians, including two children. One other child was also wounded.

The explosion tore through a civilian vehicle close to the Bagram Air Base on Tuesday, sixty kilometres outside of Afghanistan's capital of Kabul.

"Two men, two women and two children are killed. The car is totally destroyed," said interior ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary.

Although nobody immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, Bashary suggested the incident was "an act of insurgents", saying that "this is the worst of brutality of the enemy."

The Afghan Islamic Press stated on Tuesday that a spokesman for the Taliban had claimed responsibility for an attack at a military base next to Bagram, although it is not yet certain whether or not the statement referred to the same incident.