—AFP File Photo

KABUL: A suicide bomber in Afghanistan detonated explosives on Wednesday outside the United States’ main military base of Bagram in an attack that wounded five people, Afghan and NATO officials said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast.

All five wounded in the attack at the southern entrance to the base were Afghans, said Wahida Shahkar, a spokeswoman for the governor of Parwan province, where the base is located.

“A 30-minute clash also happened between the attackers, who obviously wanted to enter the base, and foreign forces,” she told Reuters.

The attack was “quickly contained and repelled” and there were no U.S. or coalition casualties, but a medical base being built for locals was badly damaged, Resolute Support, the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan, said in a statement.

Wednesday’s attack comes as the United States looks to revive stalled peace talks with Taliban militants who control more territory than at any point since being ousted from power by coalition forces in 2001. —Reuters