Tuesday 3 September 2013

US Base In Afghanistan Attacked By Taliban



Taliban fighters wearing special forces’
uniforms have attacked a car park for NATO
vehicles at a US military base in an Afghan
province bordering Pakistan. More than 30 vehicles stationed at the base
before heading to Pakistan were torched or
damaged as a result of early Monday’s attack,
which was followed by a gun battle between
the fighters and security forces, at the
Torkham border crossing in Nangarhar. NATO-led ISAF forces said they had killed three
attackers while none of its personnel were
killed. Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, spokesman for
Nangarhar’s governor, said several suicide
bombers staged the attack. NATO helicopters were also said to have
engaged with Taliban fighters on the ground. The Taliban, which claimed responsibility for
the attack, said six soldiers were killed and 10
military vehicles destroyed. In an emailed statement to media offices,
Zabiullah Mujahid, the Afghan Taliban
spokesman, said the group was behind the
attack, and claimed that its fighters had
destroyed several tanks in the process. The Afghan police shut part of a highway that
forms an important route for NATO supply
lorries travelling between Jalalabad,
Nangarhar’s capital, and Torkham, a district
adjoining Pakistan. The attack comes exactly a week after the
Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s visit to
Pakistan, where he discussed the peace
process including the release of jailed high-
level Afghan Taliban members. Taliban fighters on both sides of the Afghan
border have frequently targeted the supply
line, leading NATO to shift much of its supply
delivery towards routes from Central Asian
states instead of through Pakistan. The Taliban has escalated its attacks in recent
weeks, a surge that comes as most of the US-
led foreign troops are due to leave the country
this year in advance of a full withdrawal by the
end of 2014.

No comments:

Post a Comment