• Taliban wore American uniforms, destroyed six fighter planes, in the raid on Camp Bastion.
    86 replies, posted
[QUOTE](CNN) -- Afghan insurgents who staged a daring, well-planned raid on Camp Bastion, the military base where Britain's Prince Harry is deployed, [B]were wearing U.S. Army uniforms[/B], NATO said a day after the attack. [B]It's extremely rare for Afghan insurgents to use U.S. uniforms in their attacks.[/B] The last time CNN can identify was more than two years ago, when NATO repelled attacks on two bases in Khost province in August 2010. No coalition troops were killed in that attack, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said at the time. [B]At least two U.S. Marines were killed in the brazen strike late on Friday, and six jets were destroyed[/B], ISAF said as it released more details about the raid. Well-trained, well-rehearsed fighters carried out the sustained assault in Helmand province, ISAF said. [B]About 15 insurgents organized into three teams penetrated the base's perimeter fence and did considerable damage, destroying six refueling stations and damaging six aircraft hangars.[/B] The attackers toted automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and suicide vests. [B]They destroyed six AV-8B Harrier jets and damaged two others[/B] before the attack ended, the coalition said. [B]Fourteen of the fighters were killed and one was wounded and captured[/B], ISAF said. Eight coalition military personnel and one civilian contractor were also wounded. It is too soon to say whether the attackers had "inside knowledge," ISAF spokesman James Graybeal said. ISAF would not say how the attackers got the uniforms, but CNN staff who have spent time in Afghanistan say they are for sale in markets there. There has been at least one other case of Afghan insurgents wearing U.S. uniforms, in May 2010. And in Iraq five years ago, there was a dramatic and successful raid using the tactic. Attackers wearing what appeared to be American uniforms were responsible for the kidnapping and killing of five U.S. soldiers in Karbala, Iraq, in 2007. Prince Harry is an Apache helicopter pilot based at Camp Bastion, but the British Ministry of Defence categorically rejected reports in Sunday's British press that he was just a few hundred yards away from the gun battle. Harry, a grandson of Queen Elizabeth II and third in line to the British throne, "was in no way in any danger" during the latest attack, ISAF spokesman Maj. Martin Crighton said earlier. [B]On Saturday, ISAF said the camp is secure and the strike would not "impact" air and ground operations.[/B] Camp Leatherneck, the U.S. side of the base, was not affected by the attack, Maj. Adam N. Wojack, an ISAF spokesman, told CNN. The joint base is located in a remote desert region of Helmand, the southern province in the Taliban heartland. The Taliban said it carried out the strike, calling it a response to the anti-Islam film stoking anger among Muslims. Yet Crighton said there had no organized demonstrations outside its gates before the assault. Afghanistan has seen only relatively small and peaceful demonstrations against the film during a week in which there were protests across predominantly Muslim-countries and other locations. Separately, four American troops were killed by Afghan police on Sunday, an administration official said after NATO's International Security Assistance Force reported the attack. The latest attack on coalition troops by their supposed Afghan allies brings the number of people killed in so-called "green on blue" incidents to more than 50 this year. The killing of the four Americans on Sunday is the latest in a series of incidents in which members of Afghan security forces have been suspected of turning their weapons on coalition or Afghan soldiers, known as green-on-blue attacks. White House says Karzai, Obama committed to preventing Afghan riots Sunday's killings came only a day after the British Ministry of Defence announced that two troops had been killed in Helmand province's Nahr-e Saraj district. In that attack, a man wearing an Afghan police uniform fatally shot two members of the 3rd Battalion at a checkpoint, according to Maj. Laurence Roche, a spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said in a statement released by the ministry. The killing occurred the same day that another British soldier died in in a separate incident in Nahr-e Saraj, according to the ministry. He was killed when his vehicle struck a bomb.[/QUOTE] [URL="http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/15/world/asia/afghanistan-fatal-attack/index.html?hpt=hp_t1"]Source[/URL]
It's like someone flipped a switch and the situation in the Middle East went from relatively stable to FUBAR in a matter of days. A raid like this is way beyond stuff we've seen before.
lol snip
My guess is that they had prior combat experience in either Syria, Iraq, or Libya.
raids like these are done by the true taliban- trained fighters with proper gear and equipment they weren't using US uniforms just to look like americans - they were using us uniforms for their practicality and camouflage capability. [editline]16th September 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Disotrtion;37688652]My guess is that they had prior combat experience in either Syria, Iraq, or Libya.[/QUOTE] wrong - trained fighters out of pakistan
BBC confirms the 6 fighter jets were American and not British.
That's loads of money down the drain right there
that's a lot of money lost in that hardware
well duh, the marines are the only ones who use av-8b harriers and the attack was on a marine/british base and yeah
ffs ninja
[QUOTE=Disotrtion;37688746]BBC confirms the 6 fighter jets were American and not British.[/QUOTE] [editline]16th September 2012[/editline] NO FUCK STOP IT GFUCK
[QUOTE=Disotrtion;37688652]My guess is that they had prior combat experience in either Syria, Iraq, or Libya.[/QUOTE] or Afghanistan
EJECTING
Sure is a lot of shit going on lately.
[QUOTE=Disotrtion;37688746]BBC confirms the 6 fighter jets were American and not British.[/QUOTE] Ouch. That's a serious hit.
If they knew their way around the camp I'm sure they could've done [I]a lot[/I] worse
I thought Harriers were phased out for some reason, huh. Damn shame about the attack, hopefully they can pry some information from the last one. Unlikely though.
[QUOTE=urbanmonkey;37688819]I thought Harriers were phased out for some reason, huh. Damn shame about the attack, hopefully they can pry some information from the last one. Unlikely though.[/QUOTE] Only Britain have removed the harrier as part of David Cameron's cuts to the military. Most other NATO involved country's still have them.
I'm surprised they went for the Harriers myself, although I suppose the uniforms were better suited for that than they would've been the Apaches.
[QUOTE=Jimpy;37688766]That's loads of money down the drain right there[/QUOTE] Around 156 million dollars. Yeah...
That is fucking ballsy right there. It's just getting worse and worse for our guys out there.
Hey. Guys. Guuuuys. I know it's a shame about the jets. But that's hardware. Poor marines though.
[QUOTE=jaybuz;37688907]Around 156 million dollars. Yeah...[/QUOTE] but to be fair they're almost 30 years old, they needed replacing anyway and have probably payed for themselves by now. and they would be, if only the Fail-35 would get it's shit together.
[QUOTE=goon165;37688956]but to be fair they're almost 30 years old, they needed replacing anyway and have probably payed for themselves by now. and they would be, if only the Fail-35 would get it's shit together.[/QUOTE] The A10 Thunderbolt is 30 years old now, and it's still going very, -very- strong. Age doesn't really matter when you can upgrade and refit.
[img]http://juliantheaviator.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/harrier.jpg[/img] RIP (x6)
[QUOTE=Tark;37689073]The A10 Thunderbolt is 30 years old now, and it's still going very, -very- strong. Age doesn't really matter when you can upgrade and refit.[/QUOTE] No, just No. Effective service life is VERY dependent on the specific temperaments of the hardware itself and ease of production of new units and parts for active ones. The A10 is one of the most stupidly dependable aircraft ever designed which can lose a wing and still fly, on top of that it's cheap (11mill a Plane as apposed to the 25-30mill for the Harrier) so new ones can be ordered with little issue if needed. On the other hand the F-14 Tomcat was retired in 2006 because they were so old and worn down they needed more time being repaired than actual flight time even with CONSTANT, NEAR IMMACULATE LEVELS of maintenance. The Harrier is only still around because it fills a particular role (VTOL) that right now there is no viable replacement for, this doesn't stop the airframe from aging any faster and the VTOL system itself is complex and temperamental, requiring specialized expensive maintenance to keep it working in top order, in stark contrast to the A-10 which is essentially almost indestructible and there isn't much that can be done to it that can't be fixed with a big wrench and a hammer.
Probably took 6 months to get the uniforms shipped over from America.
[QUOTE=Itsjustguy;37689272]Probably took 6 months to get the uniforms shipped over from America.[/QUOTE] Theres....quicker ways to obtain enemy uniforms.
[QUOTE=JCDentonUNATCO;37689336]Theres....quicker ways to obtain enemy uniforms.[/QUOTE] Taliban Arts and Crafts!
[QUOTE=JCDentonUNATCO;37689336]Theres....quicker ways to obtain enemy uniforms.[/QUOTE] its afghanistan. you can literally go to kabul and theres hundreds of shops selling american gear and equipment and stuff that falls out of supply trucks
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