NATO: Blast inside U.S. base in Afghanistan kills 4

KABUL, Afghanistan -- An explosion at a U.S. airfield in Afghanistan early Saturday killed four people, the leader of international forces in the country said.

U.S. Army Gen. John Nicholson said 14 people were wounded in the attack inside Bagram Air Field.

He said the blast was caused by an "explosive device," without providing other details. The incident was being investigated, he said in a statement.

An earlier statement from NATO's Resolute Support mission said the blast happened about 5.30 a.m. and that "force protection and medical teams are responding to the situation."

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which they said was carried out by a suicide bomber inside the base. Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the insurgent group, said the attack had been planned for four months.

The Taliban regularly fire rockets at Bagram from outside its perimeter.

Abdul Wahid Sediqqi, spokesman for the governor of Parwan province, said he had reports of four dead and about 18 hurt in the attack. Laborers employed at the base line up at the gates about dawn, he said, adding an attacker could have been among those entering the base Saturday.

There was no immediate word on the nationalities of those killed and wounded. It is NATO policy not to release such details until families have been informed.