Late Friday night,15 Taliban militants penetrated the perimeter of Camp Bastion,a NATO base housing 20,000 British and US troops in Helmand Province,Afghanistan.Armed with rocket-propelled grenades;small arms;and suicide explosive vests,the militants staged an assault that killed 2 US Marines and wounded 9 others,including a civilian.They managed to destroy 6 Harrier jump jets as well,damaging 2 others.The jets are worth 20 million dollars each.
The well-coordinated attack was carried out by three teams of militants dressed in US uniforms.A hole in the perimeter fence was discovered after the three hour-long battle.US Marines were joined by British troops and a US Army unit in defending the base.The US side of the base is called Camp Leatherneck.
Additionally,the militants destroyed 3 refueling stations and damaged 6 hangars.NATO troops killed 14 of the 15 assailants;the other was detained.Prince Harry,an Apache helicopter pilot,is stationed at the camp,but wasn't near the battlefield at the time.His deployment will not be shortened because of the incident.
The militants said it was retaliation for the production of an online video offensive to Islam.
Full operations have resumed at the base.
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