Blast at Afghan Base Causes Causalities, Vice President Cheney Is Safe, Officials Say
Fox News
Tuesday 1:30AM ET
KABUL, Afghanistan — An explosion outside the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan went off Tuesday as Vice President Dick Cheney was visiting, causing an unknown number of casualties but apparently not putting the vice president in danger, officials said.
The blast happened at the first gate outside the base at Bagram, and there were an unknown number of casualties, said Kabir Ahmad, the district chief of the Bagram region.
Maj. William Mitchell said it did not appear the explosion was intended as a threat to the vice president, who was “safely inside the base” during the blast.
BAGRAM (Afghanistan) – Two Afghans were killed and 18 wounded in a suicide bombing perpetrated at the entry of the American base of Bagram, in the north of Kabul, during a visit of the American vice-president Dick Cheney, declared in AFP the chief of the district of Bagram, Kabir Ahmad.
“It is about a suicide bombing perpetrated in front of the principal entry kept by American soldiers”, declared Mr. Ahmad, without being able to give more explanations.
“According to first information’s, two Afghans were killed and 18 wounded”, it added.
The number two American, who was inside the base, was not wounded, according to its spokesman.
Updates:
KABUL, Afghanistan: An explosion outside the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan killed at least two people and wounded 12 on Tuesday during a visit by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, though the vice president was apparently not in danger, officials said.
The blast happened near the first security gate outside the base at Bagram, killing two people and wounding 12, said Kabir Ahmad, the district chief of the Bagram region.
Maj. William Mitchell said it did not appear the explosion was intended as a threat to the vice president, who was “safely inside the base” during the blast.
Cheney, who spent the night at Bagram, ate breakfast with U.S. soldiers Tuesday morning, Mitchell said. He was expected to later meet with President Hamid Karzai after their meeting was scrapped on Monday because of bad weather that prevented him traveling to Kabul.
“At this point it does not appear that the explosion was intended as a threat to the vice president,” Mitchell said. “He wasn’t near the site of the explosion. He was safely within the base at the time of the explosion.”
KABUL, Feb 27 (Reuters) – A suicide bomber killed 20 people outside the main U.S. base in Afghanistan on Tuesday, a Pakistan-based news agency reported.
“The suicide bombing took place at gate 2 where Afghan labours were waiting,” the Afghan Islamic Press quoted a provincial police officer as saying.
The agency quoted provincial governor Abdul Jabbar Taqwa as saying 20 people had been killed in the blast outside the Bagram air base.
Wild Thing’s comment……
Cheney’s meeting with Karzai is expected to continue. The meeting had been delayed due to weather conditions. Bagram is a sprawling complex and the main gates are some distance from offices and living quarters. All the other reports I am reading say all the dead and injured where Afghans.
I am so glad our troops are ok and VP Cheney was not injured or worse. Prayers for Cheney and our troops, any area there is dangerous for all of them.
Hey Hey! Yeah I saw that story pretty wild though. I blogged about it myself. Stupid Taliban’s or whoever it is, they didn’t know he was there, I have to believe that, otherwise that’s one of the worst attempts on a life ever. The reports probably came out that he was there after they hit it and they decided to throw that into the mix. This is shenanigans, don’t they know that Cheney is a robot and can’t be killed.
I can’t get excited about Cheney being in the same country as an explosion. Cheney was the guy who avoided(evaded) military service during Vietnam because he had “other priorities” like getting into politics and making big $$.
When it comes to draft dodging I treat em all alike on that subject, the Conservatives as well as the Liberals.
The one thing that would really bother me about something happening to the Vice-President is that for a short while the witch from San Francisco would be #2 in the government.
How do you sell a dismal failure to the flock? Some raghead died and took other innocents with him, now the Taliban has to rationalize and justify this to their up and coming martyrs, so after the fact it’s now an attack on Dick Cheney. Don’t they realize that Dick at this very moment is on his way to Tehran for a private talk with Ahmadinejad?
The morning news made a huge deal of this story, but this afternoon, the big story is the plung of the NYSE.
Another suicide bombing in the Middle East….Is that news?
I guess they really want Nancy Pelosi in Dick’s place?
They don’t like Dick because he cusses sometimes.
He means business when he speaks.
They know the dummycraps are weak in foreign relations so they want to take every advantage possible so they have free reign over us.
BULL CRAP! (pardon my cuss)
And what’s this about a super highway going from Mexico to Canada for Mexican truckers?
Better kill that one before it leaves the farm.
That proposed highway would run right through my town and I don’t want it and neither does anyone else.
I just read where Illegals have murdered more Americans here in the USA than have died in Iraq. Strange how this fact is not reported.
Cheney is a good man, this is a serious threat, with the leaks coming out of Washington, on just about anything to do with the war, and serious leaks. I would not be surprised if Cheney location and itinerary hasn’t been leaked too.
He is the first one to speak up and finally defend what we are doing over there without waiting for an election by responding to Plosi and the rest of that bunch that would sell this country out for 30 pieces of silver. Finally saying what everyone already knows that the democrats are in bed with the Taliban and the Enemy, which would be a change of pace for queen Nancy.
Mike, I heard on the radio tonight that there might have been one of our own that was hurt but they were not positive.
Tom, I am very glad none of ours were injured or killed. And it would be horrible if something had happened to Cheney.
But I bet Pelosi was wishing something had, she is truly evil.
Jack they sure are desperate to try and do a suicide bomb at one of our bases our guys have set up. They don’t care at all do they when they kill their own, never have and never will. How horrible these people are.
Always On Watch, yes the stock market took over the news big time.
Lynn, I like Cheney and thank God he did not get hurt. Great post thank you Lynn. That stuff about the “super highway going from Mexico to Canada for Mexican truckers”….has me totally baffled ( spelling) I just don’t get it at all. What a crazy world we are living in, so many things do not make sense and I just know we are all going to regret these horrible decisions they are making. augh.
Mark, I agree with you, it is a very serious threat. I have always like Cheney, I pray he will stay safe and healthy for a very long time.