Insurgent ground assaults on KAF and BAF

[McG]

Suicide blasts hit NATO military base
The Edmonton Sun
20 May 2010

Suicide bombers carrying rockets and grenades launched a brazen predawn attack on one of the biggest NATO military bases in Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing an American contractor.

Nine U.S. troops were also wounded. About a dozen militants, many wearing suicide vests packed with explosives, were killed, the Pentagon said. The fighting came the day after a suicide bomber attacked a military convoy in Kabul, killing 12 Afghan civilians and six foreign troops, including Canadian Col. Geoff Parker, 42. The attacks may mark the start of a Taliban spring offensive against high-profile foreign targets.

WENT ON FOR HOURS

The assault on Bagram air base, about an hour's drive north of Kabul and holding mainly U.S. troops, began in the predawn hours when about 30 Taliban insurgents attacked near the base's gates. It continued for hours with sporadic rocket and small arms fire.

One rocket landed inside the base, causing minor damage, but no insurgents managed to get inside Bagram, ISAF said.

"We're always prepared to deal with attacks on our base, the response this morning was immediate," said Lt.-Col. Clarence Counts, a spokesman for the Bagram base.

The Taliban have announced an offensive from May 20 against the government, foreign forces and diplomats in Afghanistan in response to NATO plans for an operation against the group's southern stronghold of Kandahar.

 

[Jammer]

A stroke of genius is what it was.
To even get close was ballsy enough, let alone have the wherewithall to carry on the fight for several hours. I suspect there was penetration of the perimeter by reading between the lines.
They are still a dangerous enemy. This was a huge blow to NATO and the GoA.
It's going to be a hot summer I think.

 

[GAP]

You don't have to succeed in capturing a high value target such as a large base, you just have to take advantage of normal human nature of complacency to let them know they are vulnerable. Then they have to expend that much more resources to ensure you are not successful in the future.

 

[The Bread Guy]

You don't have to succeed in capturing a high value target such as a large base, you just have to take advantage of normal human nature of complacency to let them know they are vulnerable. Then they have to expend that much more resources to ensure you are not successful in the future.

Not to mention all the media/propaganda mileage, even the bad guys lose loads o' folks in the attack.

 

[Thompson_JM]

I wasn't surprised to hear it was Bagram.....

Any Idiot with internet over there can look at the base clear as day on Google Maps....

Seriously... they Black out Half of Kandahar Province, but The Air Base practically has Google F-ing Street view on it....

Some Idiot needs to get their head slapped on that OPSEC breech....

 

[Tow Tripod]

The insurgents heard that the shopping complex at Bagram was also on the chopping block so they thought they would crash the red light special!!!

Tow Tripod

 

[392]

Probing attack in preparation for something larger?

 

[daftandbarmy]

The Tet offensive of 1968 was a tactical disaster for North Vietnam, but a strategic success for their 'long war' strategy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tet_Offensive

 

[Infanteer]

Bringing on fighting season with a bang!

 

[1feral1]

What were they thinking, hummmm...

Well this enemy really does not care what happens to themselves, more of how much damage can we inflict on the foreign troops at any cost to themselves.

They have proven time and time again that they will sacrifice their lives for their cause, and we must always remember that.  Who they kill colaterally to achieve this is insignifigant to them. That we've also seen time and time again also. Its just like a broken record, a twisted cycle of hatred and determination all mixed together going around and around.

IMHO anyways.

OWDU

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

http://news.ca.msn.com/top-stories/cbc-article.aspx?cp-documentid=24329179

Insurgents have launched an attack on NATO's main military base in southern Afghanistan, home to the largest contingent of Canadian Forces personnel in the country, an official said Saturday.

NATO forces spokeswoman Master Sgt. Sabrina Foster said rockets started hitting Kandahar Airfield around 8 p.m. local time, followed quickly by a ground assault. She said the attack was ongoing and she did not have more details.

People on the base reached by telephone said they heard both rockets and gunfire. According to a loudspeaker announcement, the ground attack was coming from the north side of the base.

Kandahar Airfield, just outside Kandahar City, is the launching pad for thousands of additional U.S. forces pouring into the country for a summer surge against the Taliban.

 

[McG]

CTV has a little more:

Insurgents attack main NATO base in south Afghanistan
CTV.ca News Staff

Date: Sat. May. 22 2010 2:04 PM ET

NATO says its main military base in southern Afghanistan has come under attack by insurgents.

NATO spokesperson Master Sgt. Sabrina Foster told the Associated Press that Kandahar Airfield came under attack around 8 p.m. local time, when rockets began hitting the base. The air attack was quickly followed by a ground assault.

Foster could not provide further details, other than to say the attack was still underway.

People on the base told the Associated Press via telephone that they could hear both rockets and gunfire. A loudspeaker announcement said the ground attack was coming from the north side of the base.

Kandahar Airfield -- known as KAF for short -- is home to an estimated 10,000 soldiers and civilian workers, including more than 2,500 Canadian troops making up the battle group. The base serves as a headquarters for the southern Afghan region.

It is not unusual for the Taliban to launch sporadic rocket attacks on the sprawling base, built around an airstrip half an hour's drive south of Kandahar City.

Most of these attacks have come in the form of badly aimed Chinese rockets, propped up against a pile of rocks, crudely aimed at the NATO base and fired remotely. They usually do little damage, even when they hit the base.

But the Taliban has largely avoided engaging in head-to-head combat with coalition forces since 2006, when a series of operations by Canadian soldiers culminating in Operation Medusa killed hundreds of Taliban fighters in Kandahar province.

This is believed to be the first ground assault on the heavily fortified Kandahar Airfield since the Taliban was swept from power in 2001.

The base is the staging area for thousands of additional U.S. forces, which have been pouring into the country over the past few months in preparation for a summer offensive against the Taliban.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100522/Afghanistan-Attack-100522/20100522?hub=TopStoriesV2

 

[McG]

... and BBC ties it into the bigger picture.

Afghan insurgents attack key Nato base in Kandahar
Insurgents have attacked Nato's main military base in southern Afghanistan.

Kandahar airfield was hit by rocket fire followed quickly by a ground assault, a Nato spokeswoman at the base said.

She said the attack was continuing and did not provide further details.

Nato also said that attacks in southern Afghanistan earlier in the day killed three Nato service personnel and a civilian working with the military.

On Wednesday, Taliban militants attacked the main US military base in Afghanistan, Bagram airfield, killing an American contractor in fighting that lasted several hours.

On Tuesday, a Taliban suicide bomber attacked a Nato convoy in the capital Kabul, killing 18 people including six Nato soldiers.

The attacks came soon after the Taliban announced a spring offensive against Nato forces and Afghan government troops.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/10135441.stm

 

[GAP]

Here's the CTV take...with video..

Insurgents attack main NATO base in south Afghanistan
Article Link
CTV.ca News Staff Sat. May. 22 2010 2:51 PM ET

Taliban insurgents have launched a brazen ground attack against the biggest NATO base in southern Afghanistan, following up a barrage of rockets fired at the Kandahar Airfield base, officials said Saturday.

Rockets began hitting Kandahar Airfield shortly after dark, at about 8 p.m. local time, said Commander Amanda Peperseim, a spokesperson for NATO forces at the base.

She said a ground attack was launched soon after the rockets began falling on the base.

Peperseim said a number of U.S. Service personnel were wounded, but had no information on the number of wounded or their conditions.

As people on the base scurried for cover in bunkers, the boom of artillery and the rattle of gunfire could be heard in the distance. A loudspeaker announcement said the ground attack was coming from the north side of the base.

Maura Axelrod, a reporter with HDNet who was inside the base, said she could hear heavy outgoing fire and that commanders had come into the bunker where she had taken cover to order all U.S. Marines with weapons to help in establishing a security perimeter.

Freelance journalist Tom Popyk told CTV News Channel that the attack was quickly beaten off.

"The coalition spokesperson tells me that was totally unsuccessful. It was just a few insurgents, basically small-arms fire," Popyk said in a telephone interview. "This attack on KAF was not well co-ordinated; it was small and was based on the north side of the sprawling air base perimeter."

"This can only really be described as basically a suicide attack by the Taliban. There was no way they were going to get inside the perimeter and certainly there was no way they were going to survive this attack."
More on link

 

[SeanNewman]

With respect to copyright laws, the entire story can be found here by the authors:
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/05/22/afghanistan-insurgents-nato-base.html

Insurgents hit Kandahar Airfield
Some injuries reported among ISAF soldiers
Last Updated: Saturday, May 22, 2010 | 4:38 PM ET
CBC News

Insurgents were repelled after launching an attack on NATO's main military base in southern Afghanistan, home to the largest contingent of Canadian Forces personnel in the country, an official said Saturday.

Militants attempted to breach the perimeter of Kandahar Airfield but did not break through, said Squadron Leader Paul Scott, a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force.

Rockets and mortars were used in the attack and personnel on the base were injured, Scott said. But he did not say how many injured, or the types of injuries. The nationalities of those hurt were not immediately known.

Details have also not been released on the estimated number of insurgents involved in the attack or how many of them might have been killed or injured.

"It's still ongoing at the moment," Scott told The Canadian Press. "It's still evolving."

Earlier, NATO forces spokeswoman Master Sgt. Sabrina Foster said rockets started hitting Kandahar Airfield around 8 p.m. local time, followed quickly by a ground assault.

Five rockets hit the base as people rushed to take cover in bunkers, CBC's Darrow MacIntyre said.

Read more on link above.

In related news, the UK's new defence minister is calling for a faster British withdraw as well:
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/05/22/afghanistan-britain-ministers-visit.html

 

[Armymedic]

More dead insurgents...

Excellent.

 

[Sig_Des]

God...now they'll be insufferable about hitting the bunkers when the rocket alarm goes off.

 

[tomahawk6]

For a group that claims alot of strength the taliban have trouble mustering even a couple hundred fighters against a target.

 

[Old Sweat]

I don't think they need to muster a lot of strength. They are getting lots of attention for little cost to themselves, andI suspect they are hoping for somebody to pull a Cronkite.

 

[mariomike]

They are getting lots of attention for little cost to themselves, andI suspect they are hoping for somebody to pull a Cronkite.

A "Cronkite moment"?
As in, “If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost the war.”?:
http://mediamythalert.wordpress.com/2010/01/21/another-twist-to-the-cronkite-moment/