28 dead as five-day Afghan air base siege ends

Kabul, Dec 2 (IANS/EFE) At least eight Afghan soldiers and 20 Taliban fighters were killed during a five-day siege of an air base in southwestern Afghanistan that also left 15 others wounded, official sources said Tuesday.

They added that the wounded were members of the Afghan National Army (ANA) who took part in the fighting at the Shorab air base in Helmand province after it came under attack last Thursday.

Security forces managed to end the siege Monday, said Omar Zwak, a spokesman for the Helmand provincial governor.

He added that the exact number of militant casualties was not known as an unknown number of bodies of fallen fighters had been removed by the Taliban from the place where the 20 bodies were found.

Zwak said that several barracks in the base as well as army vehicles and equipment had been destroyed.

"Of the 15 suicide bombers who entered the base, six detonated explosives in the early hours of the attack and the rest were killed by the security forces," Zwak added.

Dawlat Waziri, deputy spokesman for the defence ministry, confirmed that the insurgents managed to enter the compound and that two barracks were burnt.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack and Taliban spokesperson Yusuf Ahmadi claimed on Twitter that they also managed to destroy several aircraft.

The base, known as Camp Bastion by international troops, was built by the British and had been used by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) since 2005 until it was handed over to the ANA.

Afghanistan is going through one of its most violent periods ever since Afghan forces took over responsibility for security during the gradual withdrawal of the NATO military mission from the country, a process that will be completed by the end of the year.

However, around 9,800 US troops and some 3,000 to 4,000 NATO troops will remain in the country till 2024 to advise and train local troops.

--IANS/EFE

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