Two U.S. troops die in Afghanistan
Published 9:50 pm Sunday, June 21, 2009
KABUL — A rare rocket attack on the main U.S. base in Afghanistan early Sunday killed two U.S. troops and wounded six other Americans, including two civilians, officials said.
Bagram Air Base, which lies 25 miles northeast of Kabul, is surrounded by high mountains and long stretches of desert from which militants could fire rockets. But such attacks, particularly lethal ones, seldom happen.
Two U.S. troops died and six Americans were wounded, including four military personnel and two civilians, said Lt. Cmdr. Christine Sidenstricker, a U.S. military spokeswoman.
The two deaths bring to at least 80 the number of U.S. forces killed in Afghanistan this year, a record pace. Last year 151 troops died in Afghanistan.
The top government official in Bagram said several rockets were fired at the base early Sunday. A spokesman with NATO’s International Security Assistance Force said that three rounds landed inside Bagram and one landed outside.
The wounded personnel were taken to the main hospital on Bagram for treatment. The NATO spokesman said it wasn’t known if any Afghan civilians living near the base were hurt in the attack.
It wasn’t immediately clear if New York Times reporter David Rohde was at Bagram on Sunday when the rockets hit.
Rohde escaped from kidnappers in Pakistan on Friday after more than seven months in captivity and was flown to Bagram on Saturday. Embassy officials then gave him an emergency passport and FBI officials were guarding him, a U.S. official said Sunday.
A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, claimed responsibility for the rocket attack. Mujahid also said the Taliban had no involvement in the kidnapping of Rohde and didn’t know anything about his escape.
