US officials say Americans die in suicide bombing at military base in eastern Afghanistan

8 Americans die in suicide blast in Afghanistan

KABUL — Eight Americans died Wednesday in a suicide bombing at a military base in eastern Afghanistan, U.S. officials said. “Eight Americans were killed in an attack on a U.S. military base in Regional Command East in Afghanistan,” State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly said. “We mourn the loss of life in this attack, and are withholding further details pending notification of next of kin.”

Conflicting reports were reaching the Pentagon on whether the victims were civilian or military in the bombing at Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost province near the border with Pakistan.

The deaths were confirmed late Wednesday by a U.S. official in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

A senior U.S. official in Washington said the Americans were killed by an attacker wearing a suicide vest.

Wazir Pacha, a police spokesman in Khost province, said local people reported hearing a blast on the base.

Soon afterward, two helicopters landed, a police officer in Khost said.

All the U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity because not all details about the incident had been confirmed.

Associated Press Writers Pauline Jelinek and Matthew Lee in Washington and Amir Shah in Kabul contributed to this report.