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Associated Press: "U.S. troops on Monday reinforced a remote military outpost after well-armed militants got inside and killed nine American soldiers in the deadliest assault on U.S. forces in Afghanistan in three years .... Militants with machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars attacked the remote base in the village of Wanat in the mountainous northeastern province of Kunar at about 4:30 a.m. Sunday, with insurgents firing from homes and a mosque. It was a "concerted attempt" to overrun the small base near the Pakistan border that was built only about three days ago, said an official with NATO's International Security Assistance Force. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information, estimated the attacking force was several hundred. An unknown number of militants got inside the outpost, the reason the fighters were able to inflict such high casualties, said a second military official who also spoke on condition of anonymity. After the breach, U.S. troops pushed back against the invading militants, and attack helicopters swooped in. The second official said more than 40 insurgents were killed in the fighting. Fifteen U.S. soldiers also were wounded ...."
Voice of America: "NATO officials say insurgents who carried out Sunday's deadly assault on a remote NATO outpost in eastern Afghanistan were able to penetrate the base before they were driven away by U.S. air strikes. Nine American soldiers were killed in the assault. Fifteen other U.S. troops and four Afghan soldiers were wounded. From Islamabad, VOA's Barry Newhouse has more on one of the single deadliest attacks for U.S. forces since the 2001 invasion. The attack began early Sunday at a NATO outpost built just last week in Kunar, a province in eastern Afghanistan that borders Pakistan. NATO officials said a large group of insurgents had secretly moved into a nearby village, where they launched a complex assault that lasted for much of the day. NATO spokesman Mark Laity told reporters in Kabul that while insurgents regularly attack combat outposts, Sunday's assault was larger than normal and insurgents managed to fight their way inside fortified walls. "They attempted to break into that base. They did make some penetration. But over all they were repelled and they took very heavy casualties themselves," Laity said. "And then we brought in air power to stabilize the situation in a fight that then lasted for several hours." ...."
Reuters: "A Taliban attack that killed nine U.S. soldiers, the biggest single American loss in Afghanistan since 2005, was a well-planned, complex assault which briefly breached the defences of an outpost near the Pakistan border. "The insurgents went into an adjacent village, drove the villagers out, used their homes and a mosque as a base from which to launch the attack and fire on the outpost," said NATO spokesman Mark Laity on Monday. "Some of the insurgents also then attacked. I think it looks as if they made a brief breach into the base and were repelled," he said. Troops from NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and the Afghan army only moved into the combat outpost in the mountainous and forested Pech Valley district of Kunar province days before and the defences were not fully constructed. The Taliban began their attack just before dawn on Sunday. After driving back the assault, the defenders, numbering between 100 to 150, called in airstrikes from attack helicopters and warplanes. Fierce fighting went on till mid-afternoon. Scores of Taliban fighters were either killed or wounded. "There was very heavy fighting and they suffered very heavy casualties," Laity said. Tens of Taliban were killed, an Afghan Defence Ministry spokesman said ...."
BBC Online: "More than 100 insurgents breached a US outpost in north-eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, killing nine US troops in hours of fierce fighting, Nato says. The militants used rocket propelled grenades and homemade mortars to bombard the base, close to Pakistan's border, from several sides. The attack caused one of the single worst losses of life for foreign troops since operations began in 2001. It came as international and Afghan forces fought militants in many areas ...."
Agence France Presse: "Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Monday directly accused Pakistan's intelligence agency of being behind a recent series of attacks by extremist Islamic militants that have killed scores of people .... The president's comments followed one of the deadliest incidents involving international forces since they arrived in Afghanistan in late 2001 to drive out the Taliban government. The storming on Sunday of a military outpost in the remote Kunar province, near Pakistan, left nine US soldiers dead and 15 wounded, officials said. "It was a well-organised attack, it was a ferocious attack," said a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force, Captain Mike Finney. Officials have suggested the attackers were from bases in Pakistan. Hours of fighting, including air strikes, prevented the militants from taking over the base, with rebel casualties in the "high double figures", said Finney. There were reports that several civilians were also killed but they could not be immediately confirmed. Between 400 and 500 militants from various anti-government factions including Taliban, Al-Qaeda and the Hezb-i-Islami faction were involved, a senior Afghan defence ministry official said on condition of anonymity ....."
Associated Press: "U.S. troops on Monday reinforced a remote military outpost after well-armed militants got inside and killed nine American soldiers in the deadliest assault on U.S. forces in Afghanistan in three years .... Militants with machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars attacked the remote base in the village of Wanat in the mountainous northeastern province of Kunar at about 4:30 a.m. Sunday, with insurgents firing from homes and a mosque. It was a "concerted attempt" to overrun the small base near the Pakistan border that was built only about three days ago, said an official with NATO's International Security Assistance Force. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information, estimated the attacking force was several hundred. An unknown number of militants got inside the outpost, the reason the fighters were able to inflict such high casualties, said a second military official who also spoke on condition of anonymity. After the breach, U.S. troops pushed back against the invading militants, and attack helicopters swooped in. The second official said more than 40 insurgents were killed in the fighting. Fifteen U.S. soldiers also were wounded ...."
Voice of America: "NATO officials say insurgents who carried out Sunday's deadly assault on a remote NATO outpost in eastern Afghanistan were able to penetrate the base before they were driven away by U.S. air strikes. Nine American soldiers were killed in the assault. Fifteen other U.S. troops and four Afghan soldiers were wounded. From Islamabad, VOA's Barry Newhouse has more on one of the single deadliest attacks for U.S. forces since the 2001 invasion. The attack began early Sunday at a NATO outpost built just last week in Kunar, a province in eastern Afghanistan that borders Pakistan. NATO officials said a large group of insurgents had secretly moved into a nearby village, where they launched a complex assault that lasted for much of the day. NATO spokesman Mark Laity told reporters in Kabul that while insurgents regularly attack combat outposts, Sunday's assault was larger than normal and insurgents managed to fight their way inside fortified walls. "They attempted to break into that base. They did make some penetration. But over all they were repelled and they took very heavy casualties themselves," Laity said. "And then we brought in air power to stabilize the situation in a fight that then lasted for several hours." ...."
Reuters: "A Taliban attack that killed nine U.S. soldiers, the biggest single American loss in Afghanistan since 2005, was a well-planned, complex assault which briefly breached the defences of an outpost near the Pakistan border. "The insurgents went into an adjacent village, drove the villagers out, used their homes and a mosque as a base from which to launch the attack and fire on the outpost," said NATO spokesman Mark Laity on Monday. "Some of the insurgents also then attacked. I think it looks as if they made a brief breach into the base and were repelled," he said. Troops from NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and the Afghan army only moved into the combat outpost in the mountainous and forested Pech Valley district of Kunar province days before and the defences were not fully constructed. The Taliban began their attack just before dawn on Sunday. After driving back the assault, the defenders, numbering between 100 to 150, called in airstrikes from attack helicopters and warplanes. Fierce fighting went on till mid-afternoon. Scores of Taliban fighters were either killed or wounded. "There was very heavy fighting and they suffered very heavy casualties," Laity said. Tens of Taliban were killed, an Afghan Defence Ministry spokesman said ...."
BBC Online: "More than 100 insurgents breached a US outpost in north-eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, killing nine US troops in hours of fierce fighting, Nato says. The militants used rocket propelled grenades and homemade mortars to bombard the base, close to Pakistan's border, from several sides. The attack caused one of the single worst losses of life for foreign troops since operations began in 2001. It came as international and Afghan forces fought militants in many areas ...."
Agence France Presse: "Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Monday directly accused Pakistan's intelligence agency of being behind a recent series of attacks by extremist Islamic militants that have killed scores of people .... The president's comments followed one of the deadliest incidents involving international forces since they arrived in Afghanistan in late 2001 to drive out the Taliban government. The storming on Sunday of a military outpost in the remote Kunar province, near Pakistan, left nine US soldiers dead and 15 wounded, officials said. "It was a well-organised attack, it was a ferocious attack," said a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force, Captain Mike Finney. Officials have suggested the attackers were from bases in Pakistan. Hours of fighting, including air strikes, prevented the militants from taking over the base, with rebel casualties in the "high double figures", said Finney. There were reports that several civilians were also killed but they could not be immediately confirmed. Between 400 and 500 militants from various anti-government factions including Taliban, Al-Qaeda and the Hezb-i-Islami faction were involved, a senior Afghan defence ministry official said on condition of anonymity ....."