Two Marines Killed in Attack in Southern Afghanistan

By ROBERT BURNS
AP National Security Writer
WASHINGTON
A U.S. official says an insurgent attack on a British air base in southern Afghanistan has killed two American Marines and wounded several troops.

The official says the attack at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan’s Helmand province involved a range of insurgent weaponry, possibly including mortars, rockets or rocket-propelled grenades, as well as small arms fire.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because U.S. military authorities in Afghanistan had not yet announced the battle.

Camp Bastion is a British air base and is adjacent to Camp Leatherneck, the main base for U.S. Marines in Helmand.

A number of aircraft at the base also were hit by insurgent fire, the official said.