KABUL, Afghanistan: More than 100 militants firing machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars fought their way into a remote base built last week, killing nine American soldiers in the deadliest attack on U.S. forces in Afghanistan in three years.
The assault was launched at about 4:30 a.m. Sunday in the village of Wanat in the mountainous northeatern province of Kunar near the Pakistan border. The attack came from multiple sides, with insurgents firing from homes and a mosque.
It was a "concerted attempt" to overrun the small base that was built only about three days ago, said an official with NATO's International Security Assistance Force. The official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information.
The insurgent force was described as being in the "low three figures," meaning low hundreds, the official said.
An unknown number of militants got inside the outpost, the reason the fighters were able to inflict such high casualties, a second military official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said. 
BY-Herald Tribune
