Attack on U.S. Base

Taliban insurgents armed to the hilt stormed a U.S. base--Bagram Air Field right before dawn on Wednesday, resulting in an 8 hour firefight that killed an American contractor & wounded nine U.S. service members.

It's the second major Taliban assault in the Kabul area within just a few days, besides the eighteen people, including 5 U.S. soldiers & a Canadian colonel, that were killed Tuesday in a suicide car bombing in Kabul. There hadn't been an insurgent attack in nearly three months around the Afghan capital.

An Afghan provincial police commander, Gen. Abdul Rahman Sayedkhail, said the attack began when U.S. guards spotted militants in a car just outside the base. The Americans opened fire, triggering running gunbattles in which at least one militant triggered his suicide vest and U.S. troops hunted down the other attackers.

The attacks in the Kabul area, in eastern Afghanistan, come as the U.S. is focusing resources on the country's south. NATO & Afghan forces are gearing up for a major operation to secure Kandahar, the biggest city in the south & the former Taliban headquarters. American officials believe control of Kandahar is the key to stabilizing the Taliban' southern heartland.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1990334,00.html

Submitted By: Brian C. Gaddis