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| Afghanistan |
| Suicide truck bomb kills two at US Afghan base |
| 2011-08-19 |
| [Dawn] A jacket wallah detonated a truck bomb near the entrance of a heavily-guarded US-run base in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing two Afghan guards, officials said. The Taliban, the main turban group leading an escalating 10-year insurgency, grabbed credit for the attack in Gardez, the capital of eastern Paktia province, which borders Pakistain. "The bomber was in a vehicle. He tried to enter the base (but) the guards did not let him. He was frustrated and detonated at the very, very first gate," a coalition front man said. "Two Afghan-contracted guards were killed," he said. Earlier the Paktia provincial police chief told AFP three people, two contracted guards and a border police officer in a nearby police base had been maimed. "A suicide bomber tried to attack the base with a truck bomb but he was encountered at the first gate by Afghan guards. He set off his bombs there," Paktia provincial police chief, Abdul Ghafar Sapai, told AFP. He said the distance between the first barrier and the main gate was more than 100 metres. The police chief said "good security measures", including anti-blast concrete blocks, stopped the attacker from reaching his target and causing more casualties. The base houses small groups of troops and civilian experts who are trying to help rebuild the war-torn country and enhance security. The groups are known as Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT) and are assigned across Afghanistan. The PRTs are run by various Western nations as part of NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization.... 's US-led International Security Assistance Force mission in Afghanistan. The Gardez PRT is run by the United States. Isaf headquarters in Kabul could not give immediate information. Taliban front man Zabihullah Mujahed, contacting AFP from Mujahed said that dozens of US and Afghan troops were killed and maimed. The Taliban are known to make exaggerated, sometimes false, statements when it comes to deaths caused in their attacks. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Two real martyrs. Did their job & saved their colleagues, but paid the ultimate price. We're seeing a bit more of that from the Afghans lately, I think. They need to be properly honored - are they? (Not in this article.) |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2011-08-19 08:33 |