Taliban's Pakistan havens 'great concern' for Nato
Monday, 14 Jul 2008 11:13
Assault on Nato Afghanistan outpost that killed nine US soldiers leads to new concerns over Taliban raids from Pakistan
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Yesterday's assault on a Nato outpost in north-east Afghanistan has led to new concerns over Taliban militants granted save-havens in tribal Pakistan.
Nine US soldiers died at the remote combat outpost in Kunar province when Taliban fighters attacked at dawn yesterday.
On Monday Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) confirmed the gunmen had attacked after crossing the border.
Spokesman Captain Michael Finney told the Reuters news agency infiltrations such as this were a "matter of great concern" for Nato.
Islamabad has rejected claims from Afghanistan it is not doing enough to drive Taliban militants from its northern tribal regions.
"It was a complex attack; well organised and planned," he said of the attack, which began at 04:30 local time (01:00 BST) on Sunday. "It was clear they wanted to overrun the combat outpost.
"They chose their positions well. It wasn't just an attempt to rush the gate."
According to estimates from the Afghan defence ministry and western officials up to 100 Taliban could have been killed in the raid.
The deaths of nine soldiers in a single incident marks one of the deadliest days for the coalition since the 2001 invasion.