The provincial reconstruction center of Herat, in western Afghanistan, run mainly by Italian soldiers and the base of the western regional command of ISAF (International Security Assistance Force), is under attack. The Ministry of Defense speaks of 5 injured, one of which is serious, but the toll is still uncertain and provisional.
According to the Al-Jazeera channel, four NATO soldiers were killed in the assault as well as a much higher number of wounded, 28. An eyewitness, a Reuters correspondent, reports having seen the bodies of several soldiers in foreign uniforms and of the smoke coming from the vicinity of the Italian-led base. Two suicide bombers with a car loaded with explosives blew themselves up, according to Afghan authorities. The Taliban immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The news that arrives is fragmentary, but it seems that a shooting is still going on.
The insurgents' attack comes a few hours after General John Toolan officially apologized for Saturday's incident in the southern Afghan province of Helmand, in which several civilians, including women and children, died under shelling.
