US base attacked in Afghanistan

21/06/2009| IslamWeb

Two shells have struck the main US base in Afghanistan, killing two soldiers, US and Afghan officials say.

A US military spokeswoman said that six other people had been wounded by the mortar fire, including four military personnel and two civilians.

The Bagram base is just 50km from the capital, Kabul.

The attack occurred in the early hours of Sunday. The nationalities of the dead have not been released.

A Nato spokesman said the mortar rounds landed inside the base. It is the first time US soldiers have been killed by hostile fire inside the base since troops came to Afghanistan in 2001 to overthrow the country's Taliban government.

Al Jazeera's correspondent in Kabul, David Chater, reported: "It could have been long-range mortars. There are so many targets there it is not surprising there were these deaths and injuries.

"The base is surrounded by a high mountain range and flat desert. There are plenty of areas where whoever launched this attack could have launched the rocket fire or mortars from.

"But it's very rare to have these kind of attacks. We don't know yet who has carried it out.

"In a way it's saying to the US forces and international troops 'we can reach you wherever you are, even in your most heavily defended base'."

Afghan elections

Campaigning began last Tuesday in Afghanistan's presidential election, due to be held on August 20.

Forty-one candidates are standing for the five-year term, including the incumbent president Hamid Karzai.

Chater reported that there had been a rise in violence since the official launch of campaigning.

"Just about all around Afghanistan we are getting reports of Taliban attacks. They are reaching the highest level we have seen since the invasion in 2001, so this is a great concern for the election."

PHOTO CAPTION

An undated handout shows a NATO-led coalition soldier in southern Helmand province in Afghanistan.

Al-Jazeera