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U.S. Bases Come Under Attack in Afghanistan
Wednesday, September 11, 2002
Various Agencies

AIP report quoted sources as saying that two rockets were fired at the special forces base some three miles east of the nearby town of Gardez. It said one was fired early in the morning and the second a few hours later. They fell in the vicinity of the base, but caused no casualties.

Attacks were reported on three U.S. bases in Afghanistan on Wednesday, just hours before ceremonies to commemorate the attacks on the United States last September 11.

The U.S. military said a gunman fired on Bagram Air Base, the U.S. military headquarters in Afghanistan, while the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) news agency said rockets were fired at special forces bases near the eastern towns of Khost and Gardez.

No casualties were reported, but the attacks highlighted the continuing instability in Afghanistan and threat to U.S. interests 11 months after American forces attacked the country to pursue the al Qaeda network blamed for the September 11 attacks.

Lieutenant Tina Kroske, a spokeswoman at Bagram, which is just north of Kabul, said an Afghan national directed "small arms fire" at the base at about 6.30 a.m. (10 p.m. EDT Tuesday) and was taken into custody.

The main road going through the base was shut temporarily as U.S. troops secured the perimeter.

The incident came hours before ceremonies at the base to commemorate September 11, 2001. Officials at the base said a "retreat of flag ceremony" scheduled for the afternoon would go ahead despite the gunfire.
(More: ChinaDaily.com.cn News Source)
2002 © Various Agencies.

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