Eight US troops killed in Afghan attack

Eight U.S. soldiers were killed when militants attacked two remote American outposts in Eastern Afghanistan on Saturday.

The attack on American outposts began on Saturday morning when more than 300 militants from a nearby Afghan village stormed the base with guns and rocket-propelled grenades. The battle lasted for several hours and a number of Taliban fighters were also killed when U S troops retaliated. This is the deadliest single attack on coalition forces since July 2008 when nine American soldiers were killed in the same Nuristan province bordering Pakistan. Colonel Randy George, commander of Task Force Mountain Warrior, said in a statement:

My heart goes out to the families of those we have lost and to their fellow soldiers who remained to finish this fight. This was a complex attack in a difficult area. Both the U.S. and Afghan soldiers fought bravely together; I am extremely proud of their professionalism and bravery.

The provinces of Kunar and Nuristan in Eastern Afghanistan are home to many Taliban militants who fled Pakistan earlier this year. Recently, Taliban had been trying to spread their footprint beyond their strongholds in the south of the country. Meanwhile, A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahed claimed that they had captured the outpost and withdrew from the area later.

We had overrun the outposts and briefly occupied them. We are holding the district police chief and an intelligence officer hostage. Seven Taliban fighters had been killed and the fighters eventually withdrew because the area came under bombardment.