Kabul, - At least two US soldiers were killed and four
others injured in an attack on a military base in south-eastern
Afghanistan, local officials said Saturday.
Taliban rebels attacked a US military base in Zhirok district of
Paktika province in the morning, detonating a fuel tanker filled with
explosives, provincial governor's spokesman Hamidullah Zhwak told the
German Press Agency dpa.
The heavy explosion was followed by fighting that began at 6:30 am
and lasted four hours, he said.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said eight tons of explosives
were used in the attack. He said 20 Taliban militants took part in
the operation, and that seven of them were killed.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)
confirmed in a statement that two of its soldiers were killed in
Paktika, but it said the cause was a roadside bomb blast.
Earlier, an ISAF spokesperson said four soldiers were also wounded
in the Paktika incident.
Elsewhere in the same province, a helicopter contracted by the US
military made an emergency landing Saturday due to 'mechanical
issues' with no harm to the crew, the military said. But the Taliban
spokesman said their fighters shot it down with a rocket-propelled
grenade.
'A short time later, a small group of unidentified individuals
were seen removing items from the helicopter and running away.
Minutes later, the helicopter burst into flames, causing
unrecoverable damage to the helicopter and its cargo,' a US military
statement said.
Paktika in southeastern Afghanistan has been the scene of several
attacks on foreign troops during the week. A US soldier was captured
by the Taliban on Tuesday and foreign forces were still looking for
him.
ISAF troops also said one soldier was killed by roadside bomb in
eastern Afghanistan. It did not disclose nationality of the victim or
the location.
Saturday's fighting came amid a massive military offensive by US
Marines in Helmand province.
The Taliban vowed that thousands of its fighters would fight back,
but a military spokesman said that there had only been limited
resistance so far.
Up to 4,000 Marines, backed by NATO aircraft and a 650-man Afghan
force, were moving into towns across the province.
USA
Your Talkback on this Story