Suicide bomber kills 4 at U.S. base in Afghanistan

[KBScobravert]

Doesn't get worse than this. Happened just as runners were gathering to start a memorial run on base around 0500. The 2 killed that were not military were ours.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/11/12/afghanistan-explosion-blast-united-states-base/93704724/#

Two U.S. servicemembers were among the four people killed and 14 injured in an explosion inside Bagram Airfield, a large U.S. base north of Afghanistan, NATO said early Saturday morning.

U.S. Army Gen. John Nicholson confirmed the number of injuries and said the blast was caused by an “explosive device.”
Secretary Ash Carter later said in a statement an apparent suicide bomber is responsible for the explosion that killed two U.S. servicemembers and two U.S. contractors working on the base. Sixteen other U.S. servicemembers and one Polish soldier were injured.

The explosion occurred north of Kabul, the Afghan capital, and forced medical response teams rush to the scene. "Response teams at Bagram continue to treat the wounded and investigate the incident," NATO said in a statement.

The identities of the victims were not disclosed.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the (Taliban) insurgent group, said the attack had been planned for four months.

[DieselSmoke]

So they got a suicide vest on base? Not the first time that has happened at Bagram. The old Dragon dfac had to rebuilt because of one.

[D. Lil]

What do they expect having (I'm assuming) local nationals working the gates

[D. Lil]

Terrible

[KBScobravert]

So they got a suicide vest on base? Not the first time that has happened at Bagram. The old Dragon dfac had to rebuilt because of one.

Are you certain on that? I haven't been to BAF since August 2014 but I stay up to date and in close contact with our guys still there.

I can comment more on how the bomb got on base later once more info is released. It's pretty fucking bad. I called my boss yesterday that my laptop had crashed and he filled me in. My problem immediately became a nonissue. He was already heading to Afg to deal with other issues and then this happened. I knew 1 of the 2 we lost.

[KBScobravert]

What do they expect having (I'm assuming) local nationals working the gates

I'm confirming their search procedures and ECP operation with guys still there. I'm curious to know too. Last I knew it was still US Forces searching but that could have changed. Certainly there will be lots of changes coming real soon.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

[fastwhite99gt]

And Ft. Belvoir just started asking for volunteers to go back to Afghanistan! I threw my name in the hat, this happens and now the wife is throwing a fit lol! Prayers for the guys you lost and for the US service members.

[GeorgeG.]

Damn man, sorry hear of the losses. Be safe over there.

[KBScobravert]

Little update. Looks like he brought the device on base the morning of the attack vs the initial theory that he built it on base in small pieces. So that means that tucked in his coat and hidden on his body he got about 10 pounds worth of a device past the search procedures at the gate.

Then there is this. Sure he was a kid 8 years ago but looks like he was part of the taliban movement.

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2016/11/bagram-suicide-bomber-reconciled-with-afghan-government-in-2008.php

The Taliban suicide bomber who killed two American soldiers and two contractors at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan’s central province of Parwan on Nov. 12 had joined the Afghan government’s “peace process” and reconciled in 2008. He then received a job at Bagram Air Base, which he then used to execute his attack. The Bagram attack took place as US soldiers and other Americans on the base were commemorating Veterans Day with a 5K run.

He had been working at the largest US military base in Afghanistan for the past five years, said the Bagram district’s administrative chief, Abdul Shakoor Qudusi, identified the bomber as Qari Naib, 23, who hailed from the Laghmani village of the district. Naib’s brother and father have been arrested by police.

Wahid Sediqui, the governor’s spokesman, endorsed the district chief’s view and said Naib had received vocational training on metalwork provided by South Korea.
It is unclear if the suicide bomber remained a Taliban plant at Bagram for the eight years since he joined the peace process, or if he was recently persuaded by the Taliban to rejoin its ranks and execute the attack. The Taliban does have a department, known as “Call and Guidance, Luring and Integration,” which encourages Afghan security personnel and workers to defect. This department was created by the Taliban’s founder and first emir, Mullah Omar, and has been instrumental in getting Afghan security personnel to attack US and NATO troops.

The Bagram attack is worrisome as the base is one of the most secure facilities in Afghanistan, and is a major hub for US air operations in Afghanistan. The US and NATO are both heavily reliant on local Afghans to provide key services as the number of troops near an all-time low (the US has less than 10,000 troops on the ground in Afghanistan). Afghans who work at US facilities will increasingly come under more pressure to help the Taliban as the group continues to make gains across the country.

[DieselSmoke]

Gold Star family of slain Stockton soldier booed on flight

STOCKTON — The father of a soldier who was killed last weekend in Afghanistan was disappointed and hurt after airline passengers booed him and his family as they flew to meet his son’s remains.

Stewart Perry, an ex-Marine who lives in Stockton, said the ordeal left him feeling disrespected.

“It was really disgusting on the passengers’ part,” he said Friday.

His son, Sgt. John Perry, was one of two killed in an explosion at a United States airbase on Nov. 12. He was honored at a memorial service in Lodi on Thursday and will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

John Perry, 30, and Pfc. Tyler R. Iubelt of Tamaroa, Illinois, died from their injuries after the attack by an apparent suicide bomber at the Bagram Airfield at about 5:30 a.m. local time.

The Department of Defense said this week that the blast also took the lives of two U.S. contractors working on the base. Sixteen other U.S. service members and one Polish soldier participating in a NATO mission were wounded.

Perry was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Sustainment Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. He was at the base supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.

An avid runner, he had been preparing to participate in a 5K run at the base in northeast Afghanistan as part of a post-Veterans Day activity to benefit disabled veterans.

Stewart Perry said he, his wife, Kathy, and daughter were flying on an American Airlines flight from Sacramento on Monday to Philadelphia, with a quick transfer in Phoenix. From Philadelphia, they traveled to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to receive his son’s remains.

For unknown reasons, Perry said, the flight to Phoenix was 45 minutes late. The crew feared the delay might cause the Perrys miss their connecting flight.

So, when the plane landed in Phoenix, the captain made an announcement for all passengers to remain seated and to let a “special military family” exit the aircraft first, Perry said.

Several passengers in first class began to boo and complain, Perry said.

“Some people were saying ‘This is just baloney,’ and ‘I paid for first-class for this?’ ”

He said American Airlines “did everything they could” to accommodate his family.

Perry and his family made their connecting flight, and the pilot in Phoenix stayed at the gate for 40 minutes to make sure they made it on board.

Perry said he does not know if the passengers from Sacramento knew there was a Gold Star family on board, nor does he know if there was a similar reaction from people sitting in coach.

“It was just disgusting behavior from people in first class; it was terrible to see,” Perry said. “You could see the disappointment from the flight crew.”

The real focus, Perry said, should be on the heroics of his son. The husband and father of two young children died a hero.

“He made a decision that saved a lot of people,” Perry said. “I was told that he was found protecting a female soldier. … He didn’t get to live a full life, but he lived.”

http://www.recordnet.com/news/20161118/gold-star-family-of-slain-stockton-soldier-booed-on-flight

[helosailor]

I'd like to find every single person that let out a boo or hiss and brass-knuckle punch each of them 20 times in the taint.

[1carcrazyguy]

I don't see how anyone could disrespect a family in that situation. They try that around here and the respectful citizens will likely handle those complaining in short order.

[appelingogt]

Fucking hippie bag of dicks...

[sc281]

Despicable.

[Chili]

I'd like to find every single person that let out a boo or hiss and brass-knuckle punch each of them 20 times in the taint.

I don't see how anyone could disrespect a family in that situation. They try that around here and the respectful citizens will likely handle those complaining in short order.

While I completely agree with the sentiment, it doesn't sound like anyone was told why they were on the plane. It's not like people said 'fuck their dead son'.

And nobody gives a fuck about anyone but themselves on an airplane nowadays, I've found. The last two times I have been on a plane that was late and the flight crew asked everyone to remain seated to let a few people get to their connections, they were 100% ignored.