A US official says an insurgent attack on a British air base in southern Afghanistan today killed two American Marines and wounded several troops. The official says the attack at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan's Helmand province involved a range of insurgent weaponry, possibly including mortars, rockets or rocket-propelled grenades, as well as small arms fire. A number of aircraft at the base also were hit by insurgent fire, the official said.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because US military authorities in Afghanistan had not yet announced the battle. Camp Bastion is a British air base and is adjacent to Camp Leatherneck, the main base for US Marines in Helmand. Bastion is also part of the coalition base where Prince Harry is deployed, NBC News reports. The Taliban announced "Harry Operations" this week targeting the third-in-line to the British crown, who is serving a four-month stint in Afghanistan. (More Afghanistan stories.)