The Taliban claimed responsibility today for a night-time assault on Nato's biggest base in southern Afghanistan in which insurgents firing rockets, mortars and automatic weapons tried to storm Kandahar Air Field.
It was the second such attack on a major military installation this week. Several coalition troops and civilian employees were wounded in last night's assault, but there were no reports of deaths, officials said.
Artillery and machine-gun fire reverberated through the base, about 500 kilometres south-west of Kabul, several hours after the attack began, according to a Canadian Press agency report from Kandahar. Militants unleashed rockets and mortars about 8pm local time and then tried unsuccessfully to storm the northern perimeter, officials said.
One of the rockets hit a shop-lined boardwalk where soldiers go in the evening to socialise. A bloodstain could be seen on the walkway outside a T.G.I. Friday's restaurant on the boardwalk this morning, said Maura Axelrod, a reporter with HDNet who was inside the base.
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi told Associated Press that its fighters attacked the base from two sides and fired more than 15 rockets.
It was the third major attack on Nato forces in Afghanistan in six days.
The attacks follow a Taliban announcement of a spring offensive against Nato forces and Afghan government troops - their response to a promise by the Obama administration to squeeze the Taliban out of their strongholds in the southern province of Kandahar.
On Tuesday, a Taliban suicide bomber attacked a Nato convoy in the capital, killing 18 people, including five American and a Canadian Nato service members. The next day, dozens of Taliban militants attacked the main US military base at Bagram Air Field, killing an American contractor in fighting that lasted more than eight hours.
Last night, at least five rockets struck the Kandahar base in the initial attack, said Navy Cmdr. Amanda Peterseim, a spokeswoman for Nato forces at the base. Witnesses said explosions continued through much of the night. There were no reports of deaths and Cmdr. Peterseim did not have the precise number of wounded.
"The alarm has been sounding for several hours, but no insurgents have penetrated the base perimeter," Nato said in a statement issued overnight. It said "a number" of military and civilian personnel were wounded "and are receiving medical treatment. There are no confirmed fatalities."
Nato said troops and civilians were told to remain in bunkers as a precaution.
Cmdr. Peterseim did not know how many insurgents launched the attack but said they did not appear to be wearing suicide vests, as had many of those who stormed Bagram Air Field north of Kabul on Wednesday. In addition to the US contractor's death, 16 militants were killed and five attackers were captured in the Bagram assault.
Rocket attacks against the Kandahar base, located about 16 kilometres south of Kandahar city, are not uncommon. But ground assaults against such large facilities as Kandahar and Bagram are rare. Two attacks in the same week show that the militants are capable of complex operations despite Nato military pressure.
Kandahar Air Field is the launching pad for thousands of additional US forces pouring into the country for a summer surge against the Taliban.
* AP
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Fixtures
Wednesday January 8 –Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 – Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 – UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
The results of the first round are as follows:
Qais Saied (Independent): 18.4 per cent
Nabil Karoui (Qalb Tounes): 15.58 per cent
Abdelfattah Mourou (Ennahdha party): 12.88 per cent
Abdelkarim Zbidi (two-time defence minister backed by Nidaa Tounes party): 10.7 per cent
Youssef Chahed (former prime minister, leader of Long Live Tunisia): 7.3 per cent
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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RESULTS
Women:
55kg brown-black belt: Amal Amjahid (BEL) bt Amanda Monteiro (BRA) via choke
62kg brown-black belt: Bianca Basilio (BRA) bt Ffion Davies (GBR) via referee’s decision (0-0, 2-2 adv)
70kg brown-black belt: Ana Carolina Vieira (BRA) bt Jessica Swanson (USA), 9-0
90kg brown-black belt: Angelica Galvao (USA) bt Marta Szarecka (POL) 8-2
Men:
62kg black belt: Joao Miyao (BRA) bt Wan Ki-chae (KOR), 7-2
69kg black belt: Paulo Miyao (BRA) bt Gianni Grippo (USA), 2-2 (1-0 adv)
77kg black belt: Espen Mathiesen (NOR) bt Jake Mackenzie (CAN)
85kg black belt: Isaque Braz (BRA) bt Faisal Al Ketbi (UAE), 2-0
94kg black belt: Felipe Pena (BRA) bt Adam Wardzinski (POL), 4-0
110kg black belt final: Erberth Santos (BRA) bt Lucio Rodrigues (GBR) via rear naked choke
The%20specs
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Six things you need to know about UAE Women’s Special Olympics football team
Several girls started playing football at age four
They describe sport as their passion
The girls don’t dwell on their condition
They just say they may need to work a little harder than others
When not in training, they play football with their brothers and sisters
The girls want to inspire others to join the UAE Special Olympics teams
Ashes 2019 schedule
August 1-5: First Test, Edgbaston
August 14-18: Second Test, Lord's
August 22-26: Third Test, Headingley
September 4-8: Fourth Test, Old Trafford
September 12-16: Fifth Test, Oval
Company%20Profile
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The five pillars of Islam