Camp Bastion attack revealed ‘high-level complacency’
Report on 2012 Taliban assault, which left two dead and 17 injured, describes attitude of MoD as obstructive and unhelpful
Inadequate defences and “high-level complacency” led to a devastating Taliban attack on Camp Bastion, the giant joint US/UK base in Afghanistan, which left two US marines dead and 17 UK and American personnel injured, according to a damning report by MPs.
Only 11 of 24 guard towers at the base in Helmand province were manned when 15 heavily armed Taliban insurgents infiltrated the camp and attacked the airfield on 14 September 2012. The incident also led to the destruction of six US Harrier jets. US and British troops killed 14 of the Taliban attackers and wounded the remaining one, who was detained and interrogated.
