Bagram Attack

 Nearly a dozen insurgents and a U.S. contractor were killed when a group launched an early morning attack on Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan on Wednesday, officials said.

Nine service members were wounded and a building received minor damages during the attack, which included rockets, small arms and grenades. Four of the slain insurgents were "intended suicide bombers," the military said.


U.S. Army spokesman Lt. Col. Clarence Count Jr. said the insurgents failed "to breach the perimeter" and were "unable to detonate their suicide vests."

"The quick defensive reaction by the Bagram security forces likely saved a lot of lives," he said.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told CNN that 20 armed men wearing suicide vests stormed the base around 4 a.m. (7:30 p.m. Tuesday ET), with four them detonating at the entrances to allow the other men to move in. Mujahid said that a "major firefight" took place inside the base