Local media, citing the provincial police chief, said 25 people were killed and another 10 were wounded, all of them civilians, including women and children. Sediqi said Afghan intelligence officials provided information to US forces, who carried out the strike.
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North Atlantic Treaty Organisation previously said an “explosion” happened in Khost province, without elaborating.
Today’s incident is followed days after the Afghan government officials met with the members of the Taliban group and Haqqani network to discuss ways to end the ongoing violence in the country. In 2009, the military site was the target of an explosion claimed by al-Qaeda.
Gen. Abdul Karim Fayeq, provincial police chief in Kapsia province, said on Sunday that at least seven other civilians were wounded after their van hit by a newly planted roadside bomb.
Camp Chapman is located less than four miles from the city of Khost, which is near the Pakistani border, a volatile region where the Taliban and other armed groups hold sway.
The suicide bomber carried out his attack when many civilian vehicles were waiting to pass by on a main road, said an Afghan police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasn’t authorized to discuss the attack.
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Roadside bombs have been the Taliban’s weapon of choice in their war against foreign and Afghan security forces, now in its 14th year. However, Zadran said the casualty toll could be as high as 45.
