Taliban's bid to enter Afghan air field foiled
Source: Agencies |
July 1, 2010, Thursday
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MILITANTS set off a car bomb and stormed the entrance to an airport in eastern Afghanistan yesterday in a failed attempt to enter the air field used by Afghan and international forces, authorities said. Eight insurgents died in the ensuing gunbattle.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the assault, part of an upswing in violence in the nine-year-old war.
Using light weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, the militants battled international forces for 30 minutes on the outskirts of Jalalabad City, according to the media office at the airport. White smoke rose from the scene.
An Afghan soldier and one international service member were wounded in the fighting, NATO said.
"They were not able to breach the perimeter. They were fought off by a combination of Afghan and coalition security forces," German army Brigadier General Josef Blotz, a spokesman for NATO, told reporters.
The air field, shared by Afghans and the international force, is on a main road that leads to the Pakistani border.
In a text message, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said six suicide attackers killed 32 foreign and Afghan security forces at the airport, about 125 kilometers east of the Afghan capital. The insurgents often claim higher numbers of deaths in their attacks than the official toll.
Elsewhere, NATO said a US service member died of wounds sustained in a gunbattle with insurgents in eastern Afghanistan. It did not provide other details.
The death brought to 59 the number of American troops killed in June.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the assault, part of an upswing in violence in the nine-year-old war.
Using light weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, the militants battled international forces for 30 minutes on the outskirts of Jalalabad City, according to the media office at the airport. White smoke rose from the scene.
An Afghan soldier and one international service member were wounded in the fighting, NATO said.
"They were not able to breach the perimeter. They were fought off by a combination of Afghan and coalition security forces," German army Brigadier General Josef Blotz, a spokesman for NATO, told reporters.
The air field, shared by Afghans and the international force, is on a main road that leads to the Pakistani border.
In a text message, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said six suicide attackers killed 32 foreign and Afghan security forces at the airport, about 125 kilometers east of the Afghan capital. The insurgents often claim higher numbers of deaths in their attacks than the official toll.
Elsewhere, NATO said a US service member died of wounds sustained in a gunbattle with insurgents in eastern Afghanistan. It did not provide other details.
The death brought to 59 the number of American troops killed in June.
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