2 U.S. Troops Killed in Afghanistan Blast
Thousands of Marines flood southern Afghanistan to battle Taliban
Sunday, Jul 5, 2009 | Updated 12:23 PM PST
AP
President Barack Obama's administration has ordered 21,000 additional troops to Afghanistan and expects the total number of U.S. forces there to reach 68,000 by year's end.
KABUL — Militants attacked a U.S. coalition base in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, exploding a truck outside the gates, sparking a two-hour gunbattle and killing two American troops, officials said.
U.S. forces called in airstrikes to end the clash, killing more than 30 insurgents in Zerok district of Paktika province, said Hamidullah Zawak, the provincial governor spokesman. Seven U.S. and two Afghan troops were wounded, a U.S. military spokesman said.
The multi-pronged attack near the Pakistan border is hundreds of miles from the massive Marine assault in southern Afghanistan and underscores the militants' ability to inflict casualties on the over-stretched U.S. forces as they widen their battle against the Taliban, who have made a violent comeback following their initial defeat in the American-led 2001 invasion.
Responding to the deteriorating security situation, President Barack Obama's administration has ordered 21,000 additional troops to Afghanistan and expects the total number of U.S. forces there to reach 68,000 by year's end. That is double the number of troops in Afghanistan in 2008 but still half as many as are now in Iraq.
As part of the new strategy, 4,000 Marines poured into volatile Helmand province on Thursday in the biggest U.S. military operation here since 2001, trying to cut insurgent supply lines and win over local elders.
Making their job easier in the future, the U.S. secured an agreement from Russia to fly troops and weapons over its territory, The New York Times reported.
The agreement will be announced when the Obamas travel to Moscow this week.
Saturday's attack in the east started when insurgents drove an explosives-laden truck filled with gravel toward the gates of the American base, Zawak said. After the truck driver did not heed warnings to stop, the troops opened fire on the truck, which exploded, he said.
For two hours, insurgents then fired at the base from several locations before U.S.-called airstrikes ended the fight, he said.
Two U.S. troops were killed and seven were wounded in the assault, said Tech. Sgt. Chuck Marsh, a U.S. military spokesman, a U.S. military spokeswoman. Two Afghan soldiers were also wounded, he said. The base housed both U.S. and Afghan soldiers, he said.
Zabiullah Mujaheed, a Taliban spokesman, claimed responsibility for the attack. After the blast, some 100 Taliban fighters fired at the coalition troops for several hours, briefly taking over two of their checkpoints, Mujaheed said.
Zawak said 32 insurgents were killed in the airstrikes, and the authorities have already recovered 16 bodies. Mujaheed said five insurgents were killed and three were wounded.
Because of the base is in a remote area, it was impossible to independently verify Zawak's and Mujaheed's claims.
Saturday's attack happened in the same province where an American soldier and three Afghans were believed captured by insurgents Tuesday.
U.S. troops continued looking for the soldier, Navy Chief Petty Officer Brian Naranjo said Friday. The military has not publicly identified him.
No immediate claim of responsibility was made by any insurgent group for the missing soldier or Saturday's attack.
Taliban faction led by Sirajuddin Haqqani operate in the area where the attack took place. The U.S. has accused Haqqani of masterminding beheadings and suicide bombings, including the July 2008 attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul that killed 60 people.
