A US military base in eastern Afghanistan, close to the Pakistani border, came under heavy attack by Taliban suicide bombers and gunmen on Monday, reports said.
The attack on the Forward Operating Base located in Torkham, in Nangarhar province, led to a three-hour shootout and the closure of the Jalalabad-Torkham highway, a crucial NATO supply route.
NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said that three "enemy forces" were killed in "an attempted but unsuccessful coordinated attack." It confirmed in a statement that no ISAF personnel were killed in the attack, but did not disclose if any of them were injured. "We are still assessing situation and will release more information as it becomes available,' the statement added.
The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack that broke out in the morning. The militants, said to have disguised as soldiers, first torched NATO goods trucks near the base, blocking the supply route from Pakistan.
It was followed by the militants opening fire at Afghan and US troops, who were guarding the strategic base. They returned fire, and prevented the attempt by the suicide bombers to enter the base.
Afghanistan has been going through a relative lull in violence recently when the war-torn country witnessed an uptick in militant attacks last week, which killed 15 policemen, two NATO troops and dozens of civilians.
The series of attacks raises fresh concerns as Taliban takes advantage of the pre-winter season and the draw-down of foreign forces, who are committed to end its combat mission in Afghanistan next year, reports say.
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