5 Afghans dead, 2 Germans missing in blast

A massive explosion at a weapons dump near an airfield in northern Afghanistan killed five Afghans, while two German soldiers missing in the blast were presumed dead, officials said Sunday.

The blast was believed to be an accident and occurred Saturday in northern Takhar province as some of the weapons were being moved before being destroyed, the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan said in a statement.

Interior Ministry spokesman Latfullah Mashal said the five Afghans were working as porters carrying the arms to trucks.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

A sixth Afghan was also wounded and along with an injured German was to be flown to Germany for treatment, said Maj. Joseph Bowman, an ISAF spokesman. He said the two missing Germans were presumed dead.

A fourth German soldier was also wounded, but only lightly, according to a statement issued from the German division’s headquarters at Schwielowsee outside of Berlin. Some 2,250 German soldiers serve in the ISAF force.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

The weapons were being stockpiled near the airfield in the town of Rustaq after being collected as part of a national program to disarm militias. Afghanistan is awash with weapons after a quarter century of war and U.N., U.S. and NATO forces report the discovery of weapons caches almost daily.

Though a vast arsenal has been collected, officials estimate many thousands of tons of arms are still scattered across the country.

There have been a series of explosions of weapons dumps. Last month, a warlord’s stockpile of explosives dating from the Afghan resistance against occupying Soviet troops in the 1980s detonated accidentally, flattening a half dozen houses and a mosque and killing at least 26 people.