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Two Americans reported dead after attack on Camp Bastion in Afghanistan At least two US marines killed in attack on Camp Bastion in Afghanistan
(about 2 hours later)
Two Americans were reported to have died in an attack on Friday night on the Camp Bastion military compound in Afghanistan, where Prince Harry is currently stationed. At least two American marines were killed in an attack on a Nato base in Afghanistan in the early hours of Saturday morning. Taliban attackers are believed to have breached the perimeter of Camp Bastion and damaged buildings, hangers and aircraft. The base is the same one where Prince Harry arrived a week ago to begin a four month tour flying Apache helicopters. There is no suggestion he was close to the fighting.
Early indications were that the assault was on the north-east side of the base in Helmand province in the south of the country, which houses American forces in Camp Leatherneck. A Ministry of Defence spokesman in London said: "We are aware of an incident that has taken place at Camp Bastion, which is currently being dealt with." A spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) in Afghanistan said: "I can confirm there was an attack involving small arms fire."
The attack, involving small arms fire, is thought to have left two US marines dead. A US official said the attack killed two marines and wounded several troops. A number of aircraft and buildings at the base were hit by insurgent fire. The official said: "The attack is long over and now UK and US forces are in the process of conducting an assessment to discover the extent of the damage and go through the camp to make sure everything is secure."
Prince Harry, an army captain, is currently on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan, which is due to last four months. The attack was aimed at Camp Leatherneck, the US sector of Camp Bastion which is the main American base in southern Afghanistan. Although Bastion is a British base, it is also home to American, Estonian, Danish and Afghan troops. It has two runways, a hospital and is the supply hub for southern Afghanistan handling thousands of flights of every month. The base is in desert several miles outside of Lashkar Gar, the capital of Helmand province.
He has been undergoing training to fly operations in Apache attack helicopters. A Washington official said the attack involved a range of weapons, possibly including mortars, rockets or rocket-propelled grenades, as well as small arms. The base is often subject to mortar fire, but officials in Afghanistan said the damage was far more severe than normal.
The prince, who turns 28 on Saturday, arrived in the war-torn country last week but will not have yet started his role as co-pilot gunner.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "We are aware of an incident that has taken place at Camp Bastion, which is currently being dealt with."
A spokesman for Isaf – the international security assistance force – in Afghanistan said: "I can confirm there was an attack involving small arms fire. It has caused some injuries and damage."
Camp Bastion is a huge base in the middle of the desert shared with US, Estonian, Danish and Afghan troops.
It is the logistics hub for operations in Helmand, with supply convoys and armoured patrols regularly leaving its heavily-defended gates to support the military forward operating bases, patrol bases and checkpoints spread across Helmand province.