political news

Taliban attack Nato base in Afghanistan

Insurgents have attacked Nato forces in eastern Afghanistan.

Several attackers have been killed in the Taliban attack on a base at an airfield outside Jalalabad, near the border with Pakistan.

Gunmen set off a car bomb and fired rocket-propelled grenades, and reports say the fighting continues. There are no reports of Nato casualties.

The attack comes a day after US Gen David Petraeus warned of an "industrial strength insurgency" in the country.

Gen Petraeus, who is set to take over command of the US military in Afghanistan, also warned on Tuesday that fighting "may get more intense in the next few months".

He is due to take up his post as Nato commander in Afghanistan following the dramatic departure of Gen Stanley McChrystal last week.

Commando-style raid

The attack began at 0730 local time (0330 BST), with insurgents hitting the airport from different directions.

A Nato spokesman said the perimeter of the base had not been breached.

A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said six suicide attackers had taken part in the assault.

The attack is yet another example of the increasingly sophisticated assaults favoured by the Taliban, says the BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Kabul.

These commando-style operations are increasing in numbers, and often result in higher civilian and military casualties.

A total of 100 Nato troops serving in Afghanistan were killed in June, making it the deadliest month for the alliance since the US-led invasion of 2001.

An Afghan army-led operation is taking place in nearby Kunar, where 600 troops are attempting to rout about 250 insurgents thought to have links to al-Qaeda.

Jalalabad is one of Nato's largest bases in Afghanistan, after Kandahar in the south and Bagram near Kabul.

Both of those have been attacked by insurgents in recent months.