Monday, July 14, 2008 - Page updated at 12:00 AM
E-mail article
Print view Share:
Digg
Newsvine
9 U.S. soldiers killed in Taliban assault on base
Nine U.S. soldiers were killed Sunday when Taliban insurgents carried out a bold assault on a remote base near the border with Pakistan...
KABUL, Afghanistan — Nine U.S. soldiers were killed Sunday when Taliban insurgents carried out a bold assault on a remote base near the border with Pakistan, senior U.S. and NATO officials said.
The attack, the worst against U.S. forces in Afghanistan in three years, illustrated the growing threat of Taliban extremists and their associates, who in recent months have made Afghanistan a far deadlier war zone for U.S.-led forces than Iraq.
U.S. officials say the attacks are becoming more complex, intense and better coordinated than a year ago. Monthly death tolls of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan surpassed U.S. military deaths in Iraq in May and June. And last Monday, a suicide bomber attacked the Indian Embassy in Kabul and killed 58 people in the deadliest attack in the Afghan capital since 2001.
U.S. officials are considering drawing down additional forces from Iraq in coming months, in part because of the need for additional U.S. troops in Afghanistan. U.S. officials have said they need at least three more brigades in Afghanistan — or more than 10,000 troops.
Reflecting the seriousness of the incident at the U.S. base in Kunar province, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates was briefed early Sunday on the assault, according to Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell.
Although the attackers were driven back, the toll they exacted was undeniably heavy. Insurgents attacked with rocket-propelled grenades and mortars, and used houses, shops and a mosque in the nearby village of Wanat for cover, according to NATO.
In addition to the nine soldiers killed, 15 Americans and four Afghan soldiers were wounded.
A senior Defense Department official said the outpost was manned by 45 U.S. troops and 25 Afghan National Army soldiers. That would mean that one in five of the U.S. defenders was killed and one-third of them wounded.
NATO divides Afghanistan into regional commands, and the eastern part of the country, including Kunar province, is under U.S. military control.
The base that came under attack Sunday lies in one of the most inhospitable mountainous regions where U.S. forces have frequently faced fierce battles with insurgents, according to Gen. David McKiernan, who took over the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in June.
Attacks in eastern Afghanistan have increased sharply in recent months as insurgents have streamed across the country's mountainous 1,500-mile border with Pakistan as part of an offensive declared this year by top Taliban leaders in Pakistan.
Border skirmishes with insurgents have been especially heavy in the eastern provinces, where at least 11 NATO soldiers have been killed and 25 wounded in insurgent-led attacks in the past two months. Last week, a NATO soldier was killed and four were injured when their convoy rolled over a roadside bomb in Kunar.
![]()
Also Sunday, at least 24 people were killed and 30 injured in Uruzgan province in southern Afghanistan when a suicide bomber set off explosives near a police convoy, according to The Associated Press. Five police officers were among those killed, but most of the dead were shopkeepers and boys selling items at an intersection, the provincial police chief said.
According to the Web site iCasualties.org, which tracks casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq, 553 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Operation Enduring Freedom, which includes Afghanistan and other areas. About 32,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Afghanistan, along with about 30,000 NATO soldiers from other countries.
In June, 28 Americans were killed in fighting in Afghanistan, nearly equaling the 29 announced U.S. troop deaths last month in Iraq.
McKiernan, a four-star general who commanded allied land forces during the invasion of Iraq in 2003, said there were three main reasons for the increase in violence:
• A change in tactics by the insurgents to small attacks on more vulnerable targets, such as the civilian population, district centers and convoys
• The increasing progress of Afghan and NATO forces in pushing into regions previously controlled by the Taliban, which has led to more fighting
• The "deteriorating situation with tribal sanctuaries across the border" in Pakistan
Compiled from The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and The Associated Press.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Bombs kill at least 33 Iraqis as provincial elections near
Governors to give Obama a wish list
Obama: "New dawn" of leadership
Close-up: Yes, it's a recession, and it's a year old

This feature requires Flash 7.
Top video | World | Science / Tech | Entertainment
nwjobs


Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
Dotcom Reunion Party -- tonight, Dec. 1
Post a comment
nwhomes

Find a new home or condo that fits your lifestyle.
Search New Developments
Builder Directory
- JPMorgan cutting 3,400 Seattle jobs
- College Football | With UW, Pat Hill says he had "great" talk
- Wal-Mart worker trampled to death by frenzied Black Friday shoppers
- Boy's archery death accidental, coroner says
- Star Times | Football: Offense
- Bush: `I'm sorry' the economic crisis is occurring
- Obama taps Clinton, Gates for US 'new dawn' abroad
- 2 homeless women back on their feet for Seattle Marathon
- It's official: US has been in a recession all year
- State cancels condemned killer's execution
- JPMorgan cutting 3,400 Seattle jobs
- Canada's oil-sands boom creates vast riches and a dirty footprint
- Meteorologist Cliff Mass examines Pacific Northwest weather in his new book
- UW uses artwork to help sharpen visual skills of future doctors
- Wal-Mart worker trampled to death by frenzied Black Friday shoppers
- Recycling fees may rise as demand, prices drop
- Gregoire looking at massive state budget cuts
- 2 homeless women back on their feet for Seattle Marathon
- Small office / Home office | An easy, inexpensive way to share your files online
- Laxative helps clear up skin problems






