Suicide bombers, gumen attack US-Afghan air base

Taliban suicide bombers assaulted a joint US-Afghan air base in eastern Afghanistan early on Sunday, detonating explosives at the gate and sparking a gun battle that lasted at least two hours with American helicopters firing down at militants before the attackers were defeated.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said they first exploded a car bomb at the entrance of Jalalabad Airfield then stormed into the base.

A spokesman for the Afghan Defence Ministry, General Mohammad Zahir Azimi, confirmed that car bombs were used at the gate but said none of the militants were able to enter.

The NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) military coalition also described it as a failed attack.

"We can confirm insurgents, including multiple suicide bombers, attacked Jalalabad Airfield this morning. None of the attackers succeeded in breaching the perimeter," a spokesman for the international military coalition said in an email.

He said that the fighting had ended by mid-morning and that reports showed one member of the Afghan security forces was killed.

Several foreign troops were wounded, but Messer did not give any numbers or details.