OKCTalker
09-17-2012, 03:39 PM
This hasn't been widely-reported, perhaps buried by news of other Mideast terrorism.
The results of an attack Friday on a U.S. Marine base in Afghanistan: Two Marines dead, nine wounded, six Harriers destroyed, two extensively damaged, three refueling stations destroyed, six aircraft hangars damaged. One of the two KIA was the unit’s commanding officer, 40-year-old Lt. Col. Chris Raible.
Fifteen insurgents dividing into three teams breached Camp Bastion’s perimeter fence Friday night dressed in U.S. Army uniforms. They were armed with small arms, rocket-propelled grenades and suicide vests. All attackers were killed except one who was injured.
(Quoting WSJ.com) A person familiar with the base's operations said the attack would have required advance scouting and perhaps inside assistance. Comparing the attack to a less successful suicide assault on Kandahar Air Field in 2010, the person said: "When they tried to come up there [in 2010], they were completely shut down before crossing the gate. Obviously, this was a much more successful attempt. They're learning how to defeat the base defenses."
In financial figures, the Harriers cost approximately $35 million apiece in 2012 dollars (they are no longer in production), so the loss of six equates to more than $200 million. All-in, the damage would exceed a quarter of a billion dollars.
The Taliban claimed responsibility, claiming the attack was in response to a video clip that ridiculed Muhammad.
The results of an attack Friday on a U.S. Marine base in Afghanistan: Two Marines dead, nine wounded, six Harriers destroyed, two extensively damaged, three refueling stations destroyed, six aircraft hangars damaged. One of the two KIA was the unit’s commanding officer, 40-year-old Lt. Col. Chris Raible.
Fifteen insurgents dividing into three teams breached Camp Bastion’s perimeter fence Friday night dressed in U.S. Army uniforms. They were armed with small arms, rocket-propelled grenades and suicide vests. All attackers were killed except one who was injured.
(Quoting WSJ.com) A person familiar with the base's operations said the attack would have required advance scouting and perhaps inside assistance. Comparing the attack to a less successful suicide assault on Kandahar Air Field in 2010, the person said: "When they tried to come up there [in 2010], they were completely shut down before crossing the gate. Obviously, this was a much more successful attempt. They're learning how to defeat the base defenses."
In financial figures, the Harriers cost approximately $35 million apiece in 2012 dollars (they are no longer in production), so the loss of six equates to more than $200 million. All-in, the damage would exceed a quarter of a billion dollars.
The Taliban claimed responsibility, claiming the attack was in response to a video clip that ridiculed Muhammad.