The Taliban released a video clip that shows their fighters preparing for
the Sept. 14 suicide assault on Camp Bastion
in Helmand province, Afghanistan. The video includes footage of a
planning session in front of a whiteboard that has a map of the base;
the video also shows two of the fighters delivering their wills. The al
Qaeda organization and a former Guantanamo Bay detainee were likely
involved in the attack, US intelligence officials have told
The Long War Journal.
The video clip was produced by Al Emera (the Emirate), the Taliban's media arm,
and was released today on Voice of Jihad,
the Taliban's official propaganda website. The clip is a segment of a
larger video; the Taliban said that a "full detailed video of the same
operation will be released at a later date."
During the Sept. 14 suicide assault on Camp Bastion, a 15-man Taliban
team penetrated the perimeter at the airbase, destroyed six USMC
Harriers and damaged two more, and killed the squadron commander and a
sergeant. Fourteen of the 15 members of the assault team were killed,
while the last was wounded and captured. Camp Bastion is a sprawling
military base shared by US Marines and British troops that is located in
the middle of the Dashti Margo desert in Helmand province.
In the Taliban video clip released today, several fighters are seen
dressed in US Army digital combat fatigues. The faces of many of the
members of the assault team are digitally blocked. Two members of the
team provide their wills; one of them speaks in English.
The English-speaking fighter said he is conducting the attack to
avenge insults against the Koran and the Prophet Mohammed, and said the
mission was targeted at "[President] Obama, Crusaders, and other
non-Muslims." The man, who appears to be the tactical commander of the
raid, then gives a briefing in front of a whiteboard that shows a map of
a section of the airbase where the assault took place. He speaks in
Pashto,while the writing on the whiteboard is in Urdu, a language
commonly spoken in Pakistan.
The map details the fence and the locations of guard towers, aircraft
shelters, helicopters, strike aircraft, and other buildings. The point
selected by the Taliban for penetrating the perimeter is close to a
series of hangars that they believed housed helicopters and aircraft.
During the assault, the Taliban penetrated the perimeter and broke
into three teams, according to the International Security Assistance
Force. Once inside the perimeter, the Taliban attacked the hangars,
aircraft, and other buildings. In addition to destroying
six Harriers and damaging two more, the Taliban attack teams managed to blow up three aircraft refueling stations and damage six aircraft hangars.
The Taliban released a statement about the attack on Sept. 15, and
named two of the units that were involved: the "Khalid ibn al Walid
group" and the "Omar bin al Khattab group." Khalid ibn al Walid was a
companion of the Prophet Mohammed and a renowned military commander;
Omar bin al Khattab was also a companion and was the leader behind the
expansion of the caliphate in the 700s.
In the statement accompanying today's video, the Taliban exaggerated
the death toll and the damage inflicted during the Camp Bastion assault.
They claimed that the raid "resulted in the death of 47 invaders while
more than 34 others were wounded," and said that "more than 11 enemy
Harrier Jets and helicopters were also eliminated as well as a several
fuel reserves and aircraft hangers completely destroyed."
Washington Time
Kabul Time
London Time
