Afghanistan: Hundreds repelled from NATO outpost

Afghanistan: Hundreds repelled from NATO outpost
Story Highlights
Afghanistan: Attack involved 400 to 500 militants. 9 American soldiers killed

Attack was the deadliest for U.S. troops in Afghanistan since June 2005

NATO spokesman: "This was a larger scale attack than normal"

U.S. commanders request Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles (MRAPs)



WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Insurgents who squared off with U.S. soldiers in a major battle in eastern Afghanistan overran a military observation point just outside a coalition outpost, but failed to take the base, a U.S. military official told CNN.


U.S.-led coalition, Afghan and NATO officials were attempting to piece together details about the confrontation which occurred Sunday in Kunar province, a location close to the Pakistan border.

"It was heroic fighting," said another official, NATO spokesman Mark Laity, describing the U.S.-led troop performance.

"They wanted to overrun that base," he added, referring to the militants. "They failed."

The fighting left nine U.S. soldiers dead and 15 wounded. It marked the most fatalities in an attack on U.S. troops in Afghanistan in three years. An Afghan official estimated that 100 militants died or were wounded in the fighting.

A U.S. official told CNN that as many as 200 insurgents were involved in the strike, which NATO said occurred at an outpost in Dara-I-Pech. However, other officials could not put a figure on the number of insurgent casualties at this time.
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