8 U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan

Eight U.S. service members and two members of the Afghan National Security Force were killed Saturday in a battle with militants in eastern Afghanistan, officials said.

The attack is the deadliest for U.S. troops in Afghanistan since July 13, 2008, according to CNN records.

Tribal militants attacked two security outposts in the Nuristan province, said the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

The militants launched their attack from a local mosque and a nearby village, the international alliance said.

Coalition forces repelled the attack, inflicting "heavy enemy casualties," the alliance said without offering details.

All eight service members killed were Americans, the U.S. military said.

"My heart goes out to the families of those we have lost and to their fellow soldiers who remained to finish this fight," said Col. Randy George, commander of Task Force Mountain Warrior. "This was a complex attack in a difficult area. Both the U.S. and Afghan soldiers fought bravely together; I am extremely proud of their professionalism and bravery."

ISAF withheld the identities of the deceased until family members were notified.
In July 2008, Afghan militants attempted to overrun a base in the village of Wanat, also in eastern Afghanistan. At least nine Americans died that day, and the base was abandoned days later.

Militants "attempted to break into that base," said Mark Laity, a NATO spokesman, a day after the attack last summer. They did make some penetration, he said, "but overall they were repelled and they took very heavy casualties themselves."

Two days later, the base was "disestablished," ISAF said.

The Wanat attack was the deadliest attack on U.S. troops in three years and prompted a Pentagon investigation.

The U.S. Army unit that came under attack didn't get enough intelligence that 200 insurgents were in the area and poised to attack, two officials told CNN in the wake of the battle. However, the failure of intelligence is only one angle the Pentagon investigated. The report has not yet been released.

source cnn.com