Taliban overrun district in Helmand

USA troops were among six North Atlantic Treaty Organisation service members killed in a Monday motorcycle bomb attack in Bagram, Afghanistan, military officials told CNN.

He added that three others had been injured in the attack near the Afghan capital. With NATO contributions, there are about 13,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan.

Only Afghan army facilities in the district have not been taken by the insurgents, he says.

On Sunday, the deputy governor of Helmand province made a public plea to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani for support, warning that his province was in danger of falling to the group after months of heavy fighting.

It is understood USA special forces have been sent to Helmand in recent weeks to help Afghan forces.

The police chief of Parwan province said three Afghan police had been wounded in the incident, which came just over a week after suicide attacks on Kandahar air base in southern Afghanistan and on a Spanish embassy guesthouse in Kabul. He said Afghan forces had launched a counter-offensive to retake control of the district.

Helmand is an important base for the Taliban, as it has most of the world’s opium, which they use to fund their conflict.

British troops fought deadly battles in Sangin for four years to little effect, before U.S. marines replaced them in late 2010 and finally pulled out themselves last year.

The officials did not specify the total number of Americans involved in the incident, and further details on the attack were not immediately available. Since then, USA troops have found themselves in combat with Taliban forces in Helmand Province.