Taliban Hit Base After Vow of Revenge

KABUL—Taliban insurgents attacked the U.S.-led coalition's main base in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, killing two service members, after vowing revenge for the inflammatory video that has sparked violent protests across the Middle East.

Militants targeted Camp Bastion/Camp Leatherneck, a massive facility that serves as the main Afghan base for U.S. Marines and British forces, Spokesmen for the International Security Assistance Force said. The attack began late Friday local time.

Two ISAF service members were killed in the assault, which included small-arms fire and rocket or mortar fire.

The U.K.'s Prince Harry recently arrived at Camp Bastion to start a tour as an Apache attack-helicopter pilot. The Taliban had issued statements threatening to target the prince, whose birthday is Sept. 15.

Air Force Master Sgt. Bob Barko, Jr., a coalition military spokesman, said Prince Harry "was not in any danger. Part of the assessment will be whether this was targeted at him."

The extent of casualties and damage to the aircraft, hangars and other equipment at the base wasn't clear early Saturday morning. The coalition typically doesn't release casualty information pending notification of families.

"ISAF forces are currently assessing the extent of the damage and as the situation develops and more operational information becomes available it will be released as appropriate," said Marine Lt. Col. Stewart Upton, a coalition spokesman who is based at the camp.

A spokesman for the Helmand governor's office said he had no information about the attack.

The base is a large facility that is frequently targeted by insurgent rocket and mortar fire, but those attacks don't always cause damage.

British military commanders have changed their thinking about how many troops need to remain in Afghanistan, a shift that could lead to an accelerated withdrawal of U.K. troops next year, according to the British government.

Britain has about 9,500 troops in Afghanistan and has previously said it plans to reduce that to 9,000 by the end of this year and end its combat role in 2014. Under debate is the pace at which troops will be drawn down from 2013. No decision has been made, the U.K.'s Ministry of Defence said.

"I think there is a bit of a rethinking going on about how many troops we do actually need to deliver that role effectively," Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said in an interview with the Guardian newspaper, a transcript of which the Defence Ministry published Friday.

Afghanistan has so far largely avoided the violent, large-scale protests that have swept other countries over the video, following calls for calm by religious leaders and urgent appeals from U.S. officials to prevent rioting. The Taliban, in a statement Wednesday, pledged to avenge the video by killing American troops.