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KHOST, Afghanistan, Aug 19 (Reuters) Up to six Taliban suicide bombers backed by gunmen attempted to breach the defences of the main US base for southeastern Afghanistan overnight, Afghan and NATO officials said today.
NATO troops were still fighting the remaining Taliban insurgents after they were driven back to some houses in a nearby village, the provincial governor said.
A suicide bomber killed 10 Afghan civilians outside the same base yesterday.
The attacks on Camp Salerno, close to the Pakistan border, are the most brazen on a major foreign base for some time and pointed to a greater confidence among Taliban militants who have stepped up their insurgency this year.
A group of 30 Taliban fighters, among them suicide bombers, attacked Camp Salerno overnight, close to the town of Khost, provincial governor Arsala Jamal told reporters.
''Since then there has been a clash going on between NATO and the Taliban. Six Taliban were killed after they blew up the bombs they had on their bodies. Two children have been killed and two more, along with a woman, have been wounded,'' he said.
NATO pushed backed the Taliban attack with air support and the Taliban fled to some houses in a nearby village, he said.
Several houses were bombed in the NATO air strikes, residents said, adding they saw two helicopters evacuating military casualties from the site of the clash.
''We had up to six suicide bombers on foot. Some of the bombers were able to blow themselves up outside the base and some have been killed by our forces,'' said a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
''The firefight is still ongoing. There are no casualties on our own side,'' he said.
Violence has surged in Afghanistan this year as the Taliban step up their campagin of guerrilla attacks, backed by suicide and roadside bombs, to oust the pro-Western Afghan government and drive out foreign troops.
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