NATO says kills 30 insurgents after attack on base

30 Oct 2010 08:20:31 GMT
Source: Reuters
KABUL, Oct 30, (Reuters) - NATO-led troops killed more than 30 insurgents when their base was attacked in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, the coalition said, with the Taliban claiming responsibility for the assault. Five NATO troops were also wounded in attack when their outpost in Paktika province came under fire from rocket-propelled grenades, gunfire and mortars, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement.

Rising violence and record casualties among foreign troops and civilians are likely to weigh heavily on U.S. President Barack Obama's review of his Afghanistan war strategy in December, as well as at a NATO summit in Lisbon next month.

"Insurgents attacked from all directions with rocket-propelled grenades, small arms and mortar fire," ISAF said." Initial operational reporting indicates more than 30 insurgents were killed in the failed attack."

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Afghan army general Zemarai, who has only one name, said the bodies of at least 15 insurgents were seen lying on the battlefield after the attack. Afghan troops were still collecting bodies at the site, ISAF said.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the Islamist group had attacked the base, claiming that six police outposts had been overrun in the attack.

Speaking by telephone from an undisclosed location, Mujahid said Taliban fighters had inflicted "high casualties" on ISAF and Afghan forces but gave no further dertails. He said eight Taliban fighters had been killed.

The Taliban often make exaggerated or unconfirmed claims about such attacks.

The Taliban and other insurgents such as the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network have launched a series of brazen assaults on foreign bases and government buildings in the past year in a bid to topple the government and force out foreign troops.

Last month, five suicide bombers were killed during an attack on a similar-sized base in neighbouring Paktia province to the north of Paktika.

Fighting in Afghanistan's war is at its most intense since the conflict began in 2001 when U.S.-backed Afghan forces toppled the Taliban. More than 2,000 foreign troops have been killed since the war began, over half of those in the last two years.

(Additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)