A motorcycle strapped with explosives was detonated in Parwan province in Afghanistan Monday, killing six United States military members and wounding three others in an apparent suicide attack.

It’s already been confirmed that the dead were all Americans, according to a U.S. official in Afghanistan.

This from the Washington Post:

The incident occurred north of Kabul about 1:30 p.m. in a province best known for Bagram air base, a sprawling military complex from which U.S. forces fly F-16 fighter jets and other aircraft. While the U.S. military no longer carries out offensive operations in Afghanistan following the end of its formal combat mission, it patrols around the base daily to protect it against the Taliban and other enemy groups.

“We’re deeply saddened by this loss,” said Brig. Gen. Wilson A. Shoffner, the top U.S. military spokesman in Afghanistan. Gen. John Campbell, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, and the rest of the military coalition said that “our heartfelt sympathies go out to the families and friends of those affected in this tragic incident, especially during this holiday season,” Shoffner added.

The tragic loss comes on the heels of what many fear is an all-out takeover of the country by the Taliban and its forces. A day prior the Afghan capital, Kabul, was hit by two bomb explosions in what’s normally a safe zone in the metropolis and occupied by NATO.

While the U.S. “combat mission” in the country has ended, American military presence still remains, and sometimes their duties require them to go off installations. Before Monday, and according to the Pentagon’s numbers, 14 American military members and one civilian had perished while members of the coalition’s forces in Afghanistan. Five of the deaths came during combat. An astonishing 68 others were wounded.

According to VICE News, the Taliban “claimed responsibility” for the attack through their spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahed on Twitter, but said 19 people had been killed or wounded.

It’s the first major attack on a NATO military convoy since August 22 of this year, when three American contractors were murdered in a suicide attack in Kabul.

Stay tuned to the blog for more on this developing story.