The
nationalities of the dead have yet to be released by NATO.
The suicide attack however wasn't carried out by the main insurgency group in Afghanistan, the Taliban, but rather was carried out by
Hezbi Islam, headed by
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.
Hekmatyar was a well known commander during the war with the Soviets, and would later go on to lead the country as prime minister for a while.
A spokesman for the group who was speaking to AP, said that they had monitored the convoy for a week before executing their attack. They claim that the attack was carried out by a new martyrdom brigade in the movement, and was done as a response to the claim that Americans would be establishing permanent bases in the country.
Afghan President Hamiz Karzai last week said that the Americans could have
9 permanent bases across the country after the 2014 troop withdrawal.
White House Spokesman Jay Carney said that the U.S. Government had no plans on maintaining bases in the country after the 2014 withdrawal, but did say that any military presence in the country after 2014 would be at the request of the Afghan government.
