Afghan NATO base attack: 8 militants dead

Using light weapons and rocket-propelled grenades,militants battled US and Afghan forces for 30 minutes around the airport on outskirts of Jalalabad city,the media office at the airport said. Smoke rose from the scene.

An Afghan solider and one international service member were wounded in the fighting,NATO said. They were not able to breach the perimeter. They were fought off by a combination of Afghan and coalition security forces, German army Brig Gen Josef Blotz,a spokesman for NATO,told reporters.

The airport,which includes a major military base,is on a main road that leads to the Pakistani border. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said six suicide attackers killed 32 foreign and Afghan security forces at the airport,about 80 miles east of the Afghan capital. The insurgents often claim higher numbers of deaths in their attacks.

The Jalalabad attack follows a May 19 ground assault against the giant Bagram Air Field north of Kabul.