A U.S. soldier was killed Monday in a well-coordinated Taliban attack on Forward Operating Base Pasab in the Zharay district of Kandahar province in Afghanistan.
A NATO International Security Assistance Force spokeswoman confirmed to Stars and Stripes that a coalition service member had been killed the attack, but would not release the nationality of the soldier killed.
However, Afghan officials told The New York Times the service member who died was a U.S. soldier.
Jamal Agha, governor of Zharay district, explained to The Times that the attack began when an insurgent drove a truck filled with explosives to the main gate of FOB Pasab:
The driver set off a powerful blast, killing himself and the American soldier...
Within seconds of the explosion, a minivan sped to the gate, and eight gunmen clad in military fatigues and wearing suicide vests jumped out and tried to storm the base, officials said, though accounts differed on whether the insurgents’ uniforms were Afghan or American.
