Rockets hit US base at Bagram, 2 US troops killed

Kabul: A rare rocket attack on the main US base in Afghanistan early on Sunday killed two US troops and wounded six other Americans, including two civilians, officials said.

Bagram Air Base, which lies 40 kilometres northeast of Kabul, is surrounded by high mountains and long stretches of desert from which militants could fire rockets. But such attacks, particularly lethal ones, are relatively rare.

Two US troops died and four Americans were wounded, including four military personnel and two civilians, said Lieutenant Commander Christine Sidenstricker, a US military spokeswoman.

The top government official in Bagram, Kabir Ahmad, said several rockets were fired at the base early on Sunday. A spokesman with Nato's International Security Assistance Force said that three rounds landed inside Bagram and one landed outside.

The wounded personnel were taken to the main hospital on Bagram for treatment. ISAF said it wasn't known if any Afghan civilians living near the base were harmed in the attack.