An attack on a joint U.S.-British base in Afghanistan resulted in the death of two U.S. Marines and caused damage to several aircraft was, according to the BBC, aimed at one very specific target:
Prince Harry was at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan during an assault by the Taliban which killed two US marines.
American officials said small arms, rockets and mortars were used to attack the perimeter of the British base, home to troops from several countries.
The Taliban said it was a response to an amateur US-made film mocking Islam and later claimed the base was chosen because Harry was there.
Nato told Reuters news agency that the prince “was never in any danger”.
Prince Harry, who is marking his 28th birthday, is in Afghanistan for four months on his second tour of duty.
(…)
An International Security Assistance Force spokesman said that 18 Taliban fighters had been killed and one captured.
Describing the attack as “significant”, an MoD spokesman said it was “there has been some damage to equipment which is still being assessed” and a “clearance operation” was taking place.
He added: “After swift action by ISAF forces, including UK personnel, the incident was contained.”
In a telephone conversation with the BBC, Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadion reiterated earlier comments and said the attack was planned after they found out about the film US but added that Camp Bastion was chosen as the target because Prince Harry was there.
Now, of course, we should take these claims of responsibility and explanation of motives with a grain of salt at the very least, but as I’ve mentioned before this wouldn’t be the first time that the Taliban have targeted the third in line for the British Throne while he was on a tour of duty in Afghanistan, and it does seem as though they put quite a lot of work and material into this assault on a heavily defended military base. It’s almost as if they had a high value target in mind.
H/T: Jazz Shaw
