At least two US soldiers killed in Taliban attack in Afghanistan

DPA, Sun, 21 Jun 2009 09:29:36 GMT  

Kabul, -

At least two US soldiers were killed and six wounded in a Taliban attack on the heavily fortified main US military base in Afghanistan, the US military and the militants said Sunday. The US military said in a statement two of their soldiers were killed and at least six others were wounded early Sunday in an "indirect fire attack" on the Bagram base, north of the capital Kabul.

The wounded were transported to a US medical facility on Bagram Air Field for immediate medical treatment, according to the statement.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying several foreign soldiers were killed in what the group said was a rocket attack.

A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, told the German Press Agency

Rockets hit US base in Afghanistan, 2 troops dead

June 21, 2009

By Jason Straziuso, Associated Press Writer

KABUL –

A rocket attack on the main U.S. base in Afghanistan early Sunday killed two U.S. troops and wounded six other Americans, including two civilians, officials said.

Bagram Air Base, which lies 25 miles (40 kilometers) northeast of Kabul, is surrounded by high mountains and long stretches of desert from which Taliban fighters could fire rockets. But such attacks, particularly lethal ones, are relatively rare.

Two U.S. troops died and six Americans were wounded, including four military personnel and two civilians, said Lt. Cmdr. Christine Sidenstricker, a U.S. military spokeswoman.

The top government official in Bagram, Kabir Ahmad, said several rockets were fired at the base early Sunday. A spokesman with NATO's International Security Assistance Force said that three rounds landed inside Bagram and one landed outside. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't the office's top spokesman.

The wounded personnel were taken to the main hospital on Bagram for treatment. ISAF said it wasn't known if any Afghan civilians living near the base were harmed in the attack.

In February 2007, a suicide bomb attack outside Bagram killed 23 people while then-Vice President Dick Cheney was at the base. The attacker never tried to penetrate even the first of several U.S.-manned security checkpoints, instead detonating his explosives among a group of Afghan workers outside the base. The Taliban claimed responsibility.

Bagram is a sprawling Soviet-era base that houses thousands of troops, mostly from the 82nd Airborne Division. Most forces there are American, but many other countries also have troops at the base.

Activity at Bagram is high 24 hours a day, with jets and helicopters taking off at all hours. The base has expanded greatly the last several years and sits next to many houses and the village of Bagram itself.

The two deaths bring to at least 80 the number of U.S. forces killed in Afghanistan this year, a record pace. Last year 151 troops died in Afghanistan.

President Barack Obama ordered 21,000 additional troops to the country this year to fight an increasingly violent Taliban insurgency. There are now about 56,000 U.S. troops in the country, a record number.

Associated Press reporter Noor Khan in Kandahar contributed to this report.

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alemarah1.org reported the following news:

American base has come under light and heavy weapons attack in Kunar

Yesterday evening 20-06-2009 at approximate 7 pm local time,the "Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate attack on base of Americans and Afghani soldiers in Kandil area of Managi district of Kunar province

 In attack 6 enemy soldiers killed few wounded.

Reported by Zabihullah Mujahid

In ambush 3 vehicles destroyed in Helmand

Yesterday afternoon 21-06-06-2009, Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan ambushed a convoy of Afghani army in Ashegho area of Zhari district of Kandahar province, in the ambush Mujahideen destroyed 3 vehicles and 9 soldiers killed 5wounded in them .

Reported by Zabihullah Mujahid

British invaders martyred 5 civilians in Helmand

Last night the British forces martyred 5 and arrested 4 others in their savage attack on civilians' homes in  Grisk and Marja districts of Helmand Province .

Those martyred and detained had no connection with the Taleban and were all local people. It is worth mentioning that this is not the first time that the Americans and British  are repeating (killing civilians). They martyred 150 innocent civilians, including women, children, students and the elderly, in Ganjabad village of Farahrod District of the neighboring Farah Province.

Reported by Qari Yousuf Ahmadi