» 8 U.S. deaths at military base in Afghanistan (Last Updated 3:36pm PST) Ms Sparky

8 U.S. deaths at military base in Afghanistan (Last Updated 3:36pm PST)

December 30, 2009 — Ms Sparky

From Atia Abawi, CNN
December 30, 2009 2:18 p.m. EST

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) — Eight Americans were killed in a suicide bombing Wednesday at a military base in eastern Afghanistan, according to a U.S. military official and a U.S. Embassy official.

A suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest attacked Forward Operating Base Chapman near the district of Khost in Khost province, said a third official, who asked not to be named.

The military official said the eight people were not from the military.

There were conflicting reports as to whether the bomber walked into the dining facility or the gym at the base. (Click HERE for original article)

I was just watching CNN and they stated they thought this happened in a Dining Facility (DFAC) or MWR Facility. I will keep you updated as I get more information!!

Updated: 12/30/2009 @ 03:04 pm PST:

Suicide bomber kills 8 American civilians at U.S. base in Khost province, Afghanistan

BY Stephanie Gaskell
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Eight American civilians were killed Wednesday when a suicide bomber attacked a U.S. base in Afghanistan, U.S. military officials said.

The attack happened at Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost province, a Taliban stronghold in eastern Afghanistan along the Pakistan border.

“Eight Americans were killed in an attack on a U.S. military base in Regional Command East in Afghanistan,” State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said.

“We mourn the loss of life in this attack, and are withholding further details pending notification of next of kin.”

The camp was home to an Army provincial reconstruction team and is believed to be occupied by U.S. intelligence agencies.

There are reports that the attacker, wearing a suicide vest, detonated the bomb inside the base’s gym or dining facility.

Wazir Pacha, a police spokesman in Khost province, said local people reported hearing a blast on the base.

Soon afterward, two helicopters landed on the base, witnesses told AP.

In late September, a suicide bomber rammed a car into a military convoy of foreign forces there, killing one American.

In January, a suicide car bomb attack near the gates of the base killed one Afghan and wounded six people.

A second suicide bomber was waiting for emergency officials to respond to the first attack, but he was detected by police and detonated his explosives, killing only himself.

On Tuesday, an Afghan Army soldier shot and killed a U.S. soldier and wounded two Italian soldiers at a joint base in northwestern Badghis province.

“Every time the insurgents will try to use one type of incident against us, try to break that partnership, we won’t let that happen,” Shanks said.

“Our forces gain strength by operating beside their Afghan partners and will continue to do that.”

The U.S. death toll in Afghanistan is the highest it’s been since the war began in 2001; 312 U.S. troops have died there this year.

Last year, 155 U.S. troops were killed. (click HERE for original article)

Updated 12/23/2009 @ 12:44 PST:

Suicide bomber attacks base in Afghanistan’s Khost province

By Drew Brown, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Thursday, December 31, 2009

A suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest struck a forward operating base in eastern Afghanistan late Wednesday, killing eight American civilians, the U.S. military said.

Eight American civilians were killed according to Lt. Col. Almarah Belk, a Pentagon spokeswoman.

The bomber attacked Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost province, but another military official speaking on background said the base no longer houses ISAF forces, but has been turned over to “other agencies.”

“We don’t own that outpost anymore,” a second military official said. “It’s not ISAF or [U.S. Forces-Afghanistan]; it’s not a military FOB.”

The official said the base used to house members of the Khost Provincial Reconstruction Team, but it had been turned over to another U.S. agency he was unable to identify.

CNN reported earlier that the suicide bomber walked into either a dining facility or the base gym. (click HERE for original article)

Updated 12/23/2009 @ 01:05 pm PST:

8 Americans die in suicide blast in Afghanistan

By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer

KABUL – (AP) At least eight Americans died Wednesday in a suicide bombing at a military base in eastern Afghanistan, U.S. officials said. Conflicting reports were reaching the Pentagon on whether the victims were civilian or military in the bombing at Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost province near the border with Pakistan.

The deaths were confirmed late Wednesday by a U.S. official in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

A senior U.S. official in Washington said the Americans were killed by an attacker wearing a suicide vest.

Another senior U.S. official in Washington said there were conflicting reports on the number of casualties, and that other people were wounded in the attack.

Wazir Pacha, a police spokesman in Khost province, said local people reported hearing a blast on the base.

Soon afterward, two helicopters landed, a police officer in Khost said.

All the U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity because not all details about the incident had been confirmed. (click HERE for original article)

Updated 12/23/2009 @ 03:36 pm PST:

Eight Americans Die in Afghan Blast, Amid Deepening Disputes

DECEMBER 30, 2009, 5:47 P.M. ET
By ANAND GOPAL – Wall Street Journal

KABUL — Eight Americans were killed in a suicide attack on a U.S. compound in Afghanistan, U.S. officials said, in what appears to be the biggest loss of American civilians since the war here began.

The attack came on a day of deepening dispute between Western and Afghan authorities over whether an international raid earlier this week had killed Afghan civilians, including children.

On Wednesday, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization contested Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s claim that international forces over the weekend had removed civilians from their homes in northeastern Afghanistan, including school-aged children, and shot them. NATO said troops had come under attack and returned fire.

In Wednesday’s attack, a suicide bomber gained entry to Forward Operating Base Chapman, a U.S. military installation in the southeastern province of Khost, U.S. and Afghan officials said. The blast killed the eight Americans and wounded four, a U.S. official in Afghanistan said.

Much about the attack and victims remained uncertain Wednesday night. A U.S. military spokesman said none of the dead were soldiers. U.S. officials declined to say what government agency the eight worked for.

It was also not yet certain where in the base the attack occurred. Officials variously said the blast had occurred as the bomber exited a car, or after the bomber had reached the base’s gym or its cafeteria.

Forward operating bases typically house hundreds of soldiers. Afghan forces and private contractors also often live on such bases. In the past, FOB Chapman has been home to a U.S. provincial reconstruction team, a joint civilian-military operation focused on local development. The base is just outside the provincial capital of Khost and is close to the Pakistani border.

U.S. authorities said an investigation of the attack is under way. (click HERE to read entire WSJ article)

Ms Sparky