Three Czech soldiers are killed in Taliban suicide blast on patrol

Three Nato force members have been killed in a suicide bombing in eastern Afghanistan, the US military said.

A US soldier and two Afghan troops were also wounded in the blast, which targeted a foot patrol, officials said.

The Taliban claimed carried out the attack.

Wahida Shahkar, spokeswoman for the provincial governor in the Parwan province, said the attack took place near the provincial capital, Charakar.

Nato formally concluded its combat mission in Afghanistan in 2014, but around 16,000 soldiers are still providing support and training to Afghan troops, and carrying out counter-terrorism missions.

US army general John Nicholson, the commander of

it US and Nato forces in Afghanistan, said: “My thoughts and prayers, along with those of all of the 41 contributing Resolute Support nations, are with the families and friends of our fallen and wounded service members, and our injured Afghan brothers and their families.

“Their sacrifice will endure in both our hearts and history, and further strengthen our resolve.”

The Czech military later confirmed that the three killed in the incident were Czech service members.

Czech Defence Minister Lubomir Metnar also offered his condolences.

The Czechs had recently approved a plan to deploy 390 soldiers in Afghanistan through 2020, up from the current 230, as part of the Nato-led Resolute Support mission.

Last month, the Taliban struck a Nato convoy with a suicide car bomb in the eastern Logar province. The deadly blast killed two civilians and damaged a Nato vehicle.

Elsewhere in Afghanistan, the Taliban attacked a newly-constructed district headquarters in the southern Uruzgan province early on Saturday, killing four Afghan soldiers, according to Mohammad Maruf Ahmadzai, the provincial police chief.

He said nine Taliban fighters were killed in the ensuing gun battle.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack and said that they captured soldiers alive.

Both the Taliban and a local Islamic State affiliate regularly target Afghan security forces.

The IS affiliate has also carried out several attacks targeting the country’s Shiite minority.