The Taliban attack in Kunar

Telegraph:

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An official after-action briefing laid bare Nato commanders' concerns over a "concerted" attempt to overrun the forward operating base by staging a mass attack involving hundreds of Taliban.

The fighters forced their way into the base during the assault, which was launched before dawn and continued late into the afternoon.

Scores of Taliban were killed after Nato called in attack helicopters and fixed-wing fighter jets to defend the base.

"It was a complex attack, well organised and planned," said Captain Michael Finney, spokesman for Nato's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

"It was clear they wanted to overrun the combat outpost. They chose their positions well. It wasn't just an attempt to rush the gate."

The base, manned by the Afghan army and the US-led ISAF, is located in the mountainous and thickly-forested Pech Valley district of Kunar province, the most lethal region in Afghanistan for American soldiers.

As well as the nine US troops killed in the battle, 15 more were wounded along with four Afghan soldiers.

The sophistication of the attack is a fresh indication of the growing strength of the Taliban and its allies in the area.

The attackers were confident enough to warn local villagers to evacuate during the night.

The area has been described as a key staging area in the hunt for al-Qa'eda leader Osama bin Laden, which has intensified in recent weeks.

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AFP puts the number of attackers in the 100s.

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Hours of fighting, including air strikes, prevented the militants from taking over the base, with rebel casualties in the "high double figures", said Finney.

Between 400 and 500 militants from various anti-government factions including Taliban, Al-Qaeda and the Hezb-i-Islami faction were involved, a senior Afghan defence ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

"They attacked the newly established base there and reached even its walls. At one point they had entered the base," he said, citing information from the ground.

"I don't know if the soldiers died inside the base or outside but the enemy had reached the walls."

Troops were able to push them back with ground fighting and attack helicopters.

"Reports we got from the area suggest that about 40 enemy were killed and around the same number of them were wounded," he said.

ISAF's Finney said between 100 and 150 Afghan and international troops had moved into the outpost, near the village of Wanat, less than a week earlier.

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What we learn from these new reports suggest the enemy had a three or four to one advantage. It is unusual for enemy forces to be able to mass that many troops without being detected. There are some hints at how they were able to do so. The Telegraph gives teh terrain features that helped the enemy mass near the base, "located in the mountainous and thickly-forested Pech Valley district of Kunar province."

The mountains and the forest probably hid their avenue of approach and allowed them to enter into the town undetected. The base failed to establish listening posts on these avenues of approach for some reason.

They should have had a three or four man fire team with a radio at their to detect the approach or some listening devices set out there. They also needed teams in the town to detect the Taliban infestation.

The stories do not give the enemy avenue of retreat. That is important data for locating and attacking this force before it can mass for another attack. If they find its base that base should be attacked whether it is in Pakistan or not.

Belmont Club gives more on the terrain features around the base that was attacked. " Google maps shows it to be up a narrow valley surrounded by peaks a 1,000 feet higher on three sides, some of the surrounding high ground is less than a mile away. If this were the true situation, it would explain how RPGs and mortars might be effective against the outpost." It also explains how they were able to implement a swarm attack from several directions at once.