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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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2 US Troops Killed in Attack on Afghan Base

30 Taliban killed in gun battle at base near Pakistan border

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(AP) – Two American troops were killed when militants attacked a base in eastern Afghanistan today, exploding a truck loaded with gravel outside the gates and sparking a 2-hour gunbattle, the AP reports. US forces called in airstrikes to end the clash, killing over 30 insurgents, the governor of Paktika province says. The attack, near the Pakistan border, was hundreds of miles from the massive Marine assault in southern Afghanistan, underscoring  the militants' ability to inflict casualties on over-stretched US forces as they widen their battle against the Taliban.

A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack, boasting that a hundred Taliban fighters fired at the coalition troops for several hours after the blast, briefly taking over two of their checkpoints. Today's attack happened in the same province where an American soldier and three Afghans were believed captured by insurgents Tuesday.

A US Blackhawk helicopter with soldiers of Charle Company 173rd Airborne Combat Team onboard takes off as they head out into battle against Taliban insurgents in Paktika province.
A US Blackhawk helicopter with soldiers of Charle Company 173rd Airborne Combat Team onboard takes off as they head out into battle against Taliban insurgents in Paktika province.   (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
A US soldier speaks on radio as a Blackhawk helicopter with soldiers of Charlie Company 173rd Airborne Combat Team onboard takes off as they head out into battle against Taliban insurgents in Paktika.
A US soldier speaks on radio as a Blackhawk helicopter with soldiers of Charlie Company 173rd Airborne Combat Team onboard takes off as they head out into battle against Taliban insurgents in Paktika.   (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Marines load their weapons while launching a search operation for Taliban from their base in Afghanistan. An attack on an American base killed 2 US troops today.
Marines load their weapons while launching a search operation for Taliban from their base in Afghanistan. An attack on an American base killed 2 US troops today.   (Getty Images)
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lumina
Jul 4, 09 9:45 AM CDT
On Independence Day!? Whose independece? I support our troops, indeed my father was a war hero, but.... If not 'Nam, then Iraq, if not Iraq, Afghanistan?? There are wars we should be in & then there are wars which our elected officials for some reason or another think we should be in. To what end? God I feel sorry for the families of those poor souls. R.I.P. Reply
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NotEvsie
Jul 4, 09 11:39 AM CDT
I disagreed with the last war in Iraq, it had nothing to do with terrorism and everything to do with installing a west-friendly government in that part of the world. I DO, however, support the war in Afghanistan. We are fighting the very organisation responsible for 9/11, the public transport bombings in London, countless attacks on night-clubs and embassies throughout the world. This is one we should be in - but one that ultimately can only be won with economic hope for the people of Afghanistan, guns can only get you so far.
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