Taliban attack Afghanistan air base
May 19th, 2010 - 4:24 pm ICT by IANS
Kabul, May 19 (IANS/AKI) The Taliban have claimed responsibility for launching an attack in which seven militants were killed outside the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan early Wednesday.
The attack occurred only a day after a deadly bomb attack which killed at least 19 people and injured scores of others in the heart of Kabul.
The Taliban claimed 20 suicide bombers took part in the Bagram assault but NATO officials disputed the number.
“Seven insurgents have been killed during an ongoing attack on Bagram that included rockets, small arms and grenades,” NATO’s International Security Assistance Force said in a statement.
Captain Chris Sukach, a US spokesman at Bagram, said a “non-critical building” had been targeted in the attack which began about 4 a.m.
Others said sporadic explosions could be still heard around the base hours after the attack.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told reporters that 20 armed men wearing suicide vests stormed the base and four of them detonated explosives at the entrances to allow the other men to move in.
He claimed that a “major firefight” took place inside the base which is often the target of Taliban attacks.
Bagram is a heavily fortified base mostly staffed by US troops.
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Tags: armed men, bagram air base, captain chris, deadly bomb attack, explosions, explosives, firefight, grenades, international security assistance, kabul, militants, nato officials, number seven, rockets, seven insurgents, spokesman, suicide bombers, taliban, target, vests