Taliban Releases Video of Preparation for Strike on US Base in Helmand

Militants in US Army Uniforms Shown Planning Raid

Information continues to come out about the September 14 attack on Camp Bastion/Camp Leatherneck. It was already called one of the most elaborately planned Taliban operation since the 2001 US invasion, now the Taliban has released the video to prove it.

The video shows the attackers, wearing US Army uniforms just as they were during the actual attack, practicing cutting the fences to infiltrate the base, and shows them planning on targets on a whiteboard.

The attackers had an impressive understanding of the base layout, and after breaking in went straight for a hanger full of pricy Harrier jump jets, destroying six and causing $200 million in damages before US troops caught up with them. Two US Marines were slain in the fight.

NATO was trying to claim progress in the war, insisting there was a 9 percent decrease in attacks in August year over year, but if the more sophisticated sort of attacks become more common this could far outweigh any small percentage of reduction in quantity.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.