Camp Bastion attack: WSJ report on new details

Details Emerge About Attack on Marines in Afghanistan
by Julian E. Barnes
Updated March 16, 2012, 1:26 p.m. ET
The Wall Street Journal

An attack at a military runway in Afghanistan where Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was about to arrive was more serious than the Pentagon first acknowledged, based on new disclosures from military officials Friday.

Early Wednesday, an Afghan man drove a stolen pickup truck toward a group of Marines, including the top regional commander, who were awaiting the arrival of Mr. Panetta at the British-run Camp Bastion base in Helmand province.

Maj. Gen. Mark Gurganus, the head of Regional Command Southwest, and his British deputy, Brig. Stuart Skeates, had to scramble to avoid being hit by the SUV, defense officials said Friday. The officers weren't hurt.

Mr. Panetta arrived just a few minutes later, a defense official said.

The driver crashed into a ditch and was subdued by a military working dog. The assailant, who caught fire in the crash, had a gas can and lighter in the vehicle, but officials weren't sure whether he immolated himself. He suffered third-degree burns over 70% of his body and died Thursday morning, according to military officials.

In a news conference not long after the attack, Gen. Gurganus made no mention of the attack. He instead said there had been no incidents of violence near the base in recent weeks.

"We have had zero incidents," he said. "We have not so much as had a two-man protest at this point in time."

Although the Afghan man worked as an interpreter on base, officials said they don't believe he was deliberately targeting Mr. Panetta or Gen. Gurganus.

"My personal opinion is yes, he had an attempt to harm," said U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti, the day-to-day military commander in Afghanistan. "I think, frankly, he tried to hit the people on the ramp."

After the attack, three people, including the assailant's brother and father who also worked as interpreters at the base, were held for questioning, according to a defense official. The official didn't know whether the men were still being held Friday.

Details of the military runway attack on Wednesday have dribbled out slowly. On Friday morning, a defense official provided the first precise account of what happened leading up to the attack.

The assailant had stolen the Toyota Hi-Lux about 30 minutes before Mr. Panetta landed in a C-17 cargo plane, at 11:15 in the morning local time at Camp Bastion, in Helmand province. One British soldier was injured after being struck by the truck. As Mr. Panetta's plane taxied, the truck careened toward the section of the airfield where C-17 was set to park.

Mr. Panetta said on Thursday he didn't believe he was being targeted, and said he believed the attack was aimed at the Marines on the airfield. He said such attacks come with visiting war zones.

"This is a war area, we are going to get these kinds of incidents," he said.

The incident at Camp Bastion and other recent acts of violence overshadowed much of Mr. Panetta's visit and the Pentagon's intended message that overall violence in Afghanistan is down sharply in the first months of 2012.

Adam Entous contributed to this article