Just saw this. My brother in law just flew out yesterday to head back to one of the bases in Afghanistan to finish his tour.
Taliban attack US air base in Kandahar
9:23 am
3:52pm
Taliban claims US base raid killing 150
US troops? It says US-led troops and foreign troops. Arent we foreign?
Meanwhile CNN downplays it
Taliban attempt attack on Kandahar air base – Afghanistan Crossroads - CNN.com Blogs
American media at its finest
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/04/world/asia/04afghan.html
AFP: Taliban attack main US base in Afghan south
Taliban attack US air base in Kandahar
9:23 am
Taliban attack US air base in Kandahar
A group of Taliban militants have launched a ground attack on the Kandahar US air base in Afghanistan, setting off a spate of deadly clashes with foreign troops.
Some of the Taliban forces blew themselves up in front of NATO's largest base in southern Afghanistan after having failed to infiltrate into the base while others began firing at US-led forces with rocket propelled grenades, a Press TV correspondent reported on Tuesday.
The gun firing between the Taliban and the US forces has not came to a halt, but the American and Afghan security forces have now taken control of issues at the base.
According to Taliban spokesperson Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, the fresh round of attacks is waged as part of a stepped-up campaign against US-led troops in Kandahar province.
Meanwhile, Maj. Fred De Mos, a spokesman for NATO forces told AFP that the number of casualties during the fight is still unknown.
Taliban forces made a similar attempt on May 22, just a few days after militants sent a number of bombers to raid the Bagram Air Field near the capital.
The incidents come as the number of attacks against US-led troops in Afghanistan has soared significantly over the past months amid public outcry over the prolonged war in the war-crippled country.
The latest development also comes as July set the record as the deadliest month for US-led forces stationed in the country since 2001.
Kandahar air base is considered the largest US base in southern Afghanistan, and is used by American, Canadian and Afghan soldiers.
Some 140,000 NATO and US soldiers are stationed in Afghanistan-30,000 of whom are deployed in the southern Taliban heartlands of Helmand and Kandahar provinces.
3:52pm
Taliban claims US base raid killing 150
The Taliban have claimed responsibility for killing 150 US-led troops in an attack on the main US base in southern Afghanistan.
A gun battle erupted after the Taliban attacked the military base in Afghan province of Kandahar, a Press TV correspondent reported Tuesday.
Explosions had been reported in the vicinity of the air base before a fire-fight started between the militants and the US-led forces.
The fight lasted for more than two hours. NATO has confirmed the attack but offered no details on the possible casualties.
However, according to a statement by the provincial governor's office, only one foreign soldier was killed and several civilians were injured after two rockets struck inside the base.
Meanwhile, NATO-backed Afghan soldiers reported to have killed six militants that attacked the base.
A Taliban spokesman, however, insisted that the militants managed to infiltrate the largest US base in Kandahar and killing at least 150 foreign troops there.
If accurate, the latest casualties would bring to over 2,000 the number of US-led troops killed in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion of the war-ravaged country.
US troops? It says US-led troops and foreign troops. Arent we foreign?
Meanwhile CNN downplays it
Taliban attempt attack on Kandahar air base – Afghanistan Crossroads - CNN.com Blogs
Taliban attempt attack on Kandahar air base
A group of Taliban insurgents launched an apparently unsuccessful attack on a major NATO base in Afghanistan Tuesday, according to international forces.
The insurgents used suicide bombers and ground weapons in their attempt to breach the perimeter of Kandahar airfield in southern Afghanistan, said Maj. Michael Johnson, spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
Another coalition source told CNN that a suicide bomber at the gate blew himself up.
Fazel Ahmad Shirzad, the security director of Kandahar police, said six Taliban insurgents, including two suicide bombers, attacked the airfield at midnight. One of the suicide bombers drove a tractor in an attempted attack on a security tower; another fired light and heavy weapons.
Six insurgents were killed and two civilians and an ISAF soldier were slightly injured, Shirzad said.
CNN's Barbara Starr and Atia Abawi and journalist Matilullah Mati contributed to this report.
American media at its finest
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/04/world/asia/04afghan.html
KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban insurgents attacked the main NATO military base near the southern city of Kandahar on Tuesday with rockets, ground fire and suicide bombers, according to Afghan officials, but there were no reports of serious casualties among the defenders.
The attack began around 10 a.m. with rockets fired into the sprawling base at the Kandahar Airfield that wounded two civilians, followed by a ground assault on the base’s north side, said Zalmy Ayoubi, a spokesman for the Kandahar provincial governor’s office.
Six of the attackers were killed, including two wearing suicide vests, and an unspecified number fled, Mr. Ayoubi said, crediting quick reaction by soldiers from the international force inside the base.
“Witnesses who were inside the base said they have heard four heavy explosions, and alarms went off, so everyone was evacuated to safe shelter,” he said. “Light small-arms fire was also heard.”
A spokesman for the Taliban in the south, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, interviewed by cellphone, claimed that the attack was led by seven suicide bombers who managed to breach the perimeter of the base so that a tractor loaded with explosives could enter and explode, while fighters dispersed around the base. He also claimed that 11 foreigners had been killed.
¶ Also on Tuesday, six guards at a branch of the Kabul Bank in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif were killed by robbers who made off with about $300,000, according to Shir Jan Durani, a spokesman for the provincial police chief.
The robbers had been the guests of the bank guards the night before and doctored their food, then stabbed the guards to death after they fell unconscious, Mr. Durani said. It was not clear why they were visiting the guards.
AFP: Taliban attack main US base in Afghan south
So whos lying? American media or the Iranian media? Presstv.ir is based in TehranNATO confirmed the incident but said its initial assessment showed that eight insurgents had died and two had been wounded, while four American soldiers were also hurt.
