2 US Troops Killed in Attack on Afghan Base

Taliban claims responsibility for strike that wounded 6

By Jess Kilby, Newser Staff

Posted Jun 21, 2009 6:57 AM CDT

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2 US Troops Killed in Attack on Afghan Base — U.S. Marines from the 2nd MEB, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines cross an alley way as they battle Taliban fighters near Now Zad in Afghanistan's Helmand province Saturday, June 20, 2009. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

Two US troops were killed and six more Americans were injured early this morning in a rocket strike on a US air base in Afghanistan, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the 2 a.m. strike on the heavily fortified compound, which brings the American death toll in Afghanistan this year to at least 81, according to a watchdog group that tracks troop casualties.

No injuries were reported among the Afghan communities that surround the sprawling base, which is the size of a small city. Attacks on the compound are rare, and today’s is only
the third since January to penetrate the perimeter of the base. The current pace of US causalities in Afghanistan indicates 2009 may be the deadliest year yet in the nearly 8-year conflict, eclipsing last year’s count of 155.

(More Afghanistan stories.)

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