A US official says six American troops in NATO's Resolute Support mission were killed, and three Afghan police were wounded, in a suicide attack near Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, Reuters reports.
The troops were killed Monday when an attacker rammed an explosives-laden motorcycle into their patrol in a village near the airfield. The Taliban has claimed responsibility.
The official was not authorized to discuss the incident publicly so spoke on condition of anonymity.
The attack is the latest a a recent surge of violence across Afghanistan, and it comes just days after Defense Secretary Ash Carter stopped in Bagram.
A recent Pentagon report said that violence in Afghanistan has increased since a violent two week-long Taliban offensive on the town of Kunduz in September left at least 848 civilians killed or wounded. During the fighting in Kunduz, US warplanes reportedly bombed a Doctors Without Borders hospital.
In addition to Afghanistan's troubles with the Taliban, there have also been reports that ISIS is establishing a foothold in the country.
Reuters reports that Taliban forces in Helmand province to the southwest of the country closed in on the district of Sangin, strengthening the jihadist network's grip in Afghanistan's southern border with Pakistan.
The attacks on Monday, as well as attacks earlier in the month highlight the Taliban's ability to strike high-profile US and US-backed targets in Afghanistan.
Bagram Airfield, around 25 miles to the north of Kabul, is one of the main bases for the 9,800 US troops left in Afghanistan. More than 2,300 US troops have died in the Afghan war since the 2001 invasion.