Four militants die in rocket attack on base

Published on Saturday 15 October 2011 23:54

MILITANTS tried to blast their way into an American base in eastern Afghanistan yesterday, striking before dawn with rocket-propelled grenades and a vehicle packed with explosives.

The attackers failed to breach the gate of the base in Panjshir province’s Rakha district, although they did hit a security tower with a rocket-propelled grenade.

Three of the men attacked on foot, shooting, while a fourth detonated the explosives-laden vehicle outside the gate. All four of the attackers were killed and two Afghan security guards were wounded.

A Nato spokeswoman confirmed the attack but said there were no American deaths or injuries and no significant damage to facilities.

“There was a complex attack attempted, but it was repelled,” US Army Captain Ebony Calhoun said. She said the guards’ wounds were not life-threatening but they had been evacuated to a larger US base for treatment.

The base houses a provincial reconstruction team – a mix of military and international civilians who work to improve provincial governance, services and infrastructure.

The Taleban claimed responsibility for the attack.

The attack in Panjshir followed on the heels of violence on Friday which left at least 30 dead across the country.

Nato reported yesterday that 23 insurgents were killed in five separate operations throughout the east. In the largest strike, 17 insurgents were killed in an air strike in Kunar province. The remaining six deaths were in operations in Wardak, Kunar and Ghazni provinces.

In southern Afghanistan, a suicide bombing killed three Afghan border police officers and one civilian.

The bomber blew up his explosives-packed car on Friday afternoon while it was being inspected at a checkpoint.

The explosion happened in Spin Boldak, near the Pakistani border, in the early evening.