Afghan militants fired rockets at Bagram air base,damaging the plane of Joint Chiefs Chairman General Martin E. Dempsey,US Army,and wounding two US Air Force maintenance technicians.The general was not in the area at the time.
The attack took place at 2am Monday.Two rockets landed on the air base's flight line,damaging the front and one engine of the C-17 transport aircraft.The two airmen suffered cuts and bruises from shrapnel.A NATO helicopter was also damaged in the assault.
The attack was similar to others launched by Taliban militants against Bagram on a regular basis,coalition spokesman Jamie Graybeal noted.He was sceptical of militant claims that they specifically targeted the general's plane,having exact information as to its location.Bagram is the main coalition air base in Eastern Afghanistan.
General Dempsey was in the country with General James R. Mattis,US Marine Corps,Commander US Central Command.They had met with coalition commander General John R. Allen,US Army and Afghan officials on the status of the war,the longest in US history.
Last Thursday,militants claimed they had shot down a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter that crashed in a firefight northeast of Kandahar,Afghanistan,killing seven US service members and four Afghans.Two US Navy SEALs were among the dead,along with a Navy explosives specialist and four US Army soldiers.
Blackhawks are a workhorse helicopter in Afghanistan,transporting troops,supplies and dignitaries over the mountainous and explosives-laden terrain.
The crash is under investigation.
No comments:
Post a Comment